NIGHTS     WITH      UNCLE     REMUS.        Illus 
trated.     i2mo,  $1.50  ;  paper,  50  cents. 

MINGO,  AND  OTHER  SKETCHES  IN  BLACK 
AND   WHITE.     i6mo,  $1.25;  paper,  50  cents. 

BALAAM    AND    HIS    MASTER,    AND   OTHER 
SKETCHES.     i6mo,  $1.25. 

UNCLE    REMUS   AND   HIS   FRIENDS.     Illus 
trated.     i2mo,  $1.50, 

LITTLE     MR.    THI MBLEFINGER    AND     HIS 

QUEER  COUNTRY.     Illustrated.     Crown  8vo, 

$2.00. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO. 
BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


BROTHER   LION   WATCHED    ME.     PAGE  158 


MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME 


A   SEQUEL  TO 


ILittle  $*r«  ®t)imbiffinger  ana 


Country 


BY 


JOEL  CHANDLER  HARRIS 

AUTHOR   OF    "  UNCLE   REMUS,"   ETC- 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  OLIVER  HERFORD 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

&e  p>rcg?,  Cambritrge 

1895 


Copyright,  1894  and  1895, 
By  JOEL  CHANDLER    HARRIS, 

Copyright,  1895, 
BY  HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.S.  A. 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &  Co. 


CONTENTS. 

M  A  f 


PAGE 

I.  BUSTER  JOHN  ALARMS  MR.  RABBIT        ...  5 

II.  WHERE  THE  THUNDER  LIVES       ....  15 

III.  THE  JUMPING-OFF  PLACE        .....  28 

IV.  THE  BLUE  HEN'S  CHICKEN  .....  36 
V.  How  A  KING  WAS  FOUND         .....  46 

VI.  THE  MAGIC  RING          ......        57 

VII.  THE  Cow  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS        .        .        .69 
VIII.  BROTHER  WOLF'S  TWO  BIG  DINNERS  ...        82 

IX.  THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN          .        .        .91 
X.  A  LUCKY  CONJURER     ......      106 

XI.  THE  KING  OF  THE  CLINKERS    .....  119 
XII.  THE  TERRIBLE  HORSE          .....      132 

XIII.  How  BROTHER  LION  LOST  HIS  WOOL      .        .        .  144 

XIV.  BROTHER  LION  HAS  A  SPELL  OF  SICKNESS  .        .      154 
XV.  A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD         .....       164 

XVI.  AN  OLD-FASHIONED  Fuss        .        .        .        .        .178 
XVII.  THE  RABBIT  AND  THE  MOON       .  191 


M522983 


ii  CONTENTS. 

XVIII.  WHY  THE  BEAR  is  A  WRESTLER     ....  197 
XIX.  THE  SHOEMAKER  WHO  MADE  BUT  ONE  SHOE       .      209 

XX.  THE  WOOG  AND  THE  WEEZE 240 

XXI.  UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER  DROUTH  .        .        .      252 
XXII.  THE  SNOW-WHITE  GOAT  AND  THE  COAL-BLACK 

SHEEP 266 

XXIII.  THE  BUTTING  Cow  AND  THE  HITTING  STICK      .      282 

XXIV.  THE  FATE  OF  THE  DIDDYPAWN      .        .  .  294 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

BROTHER  LION  WATCHED  ME.     (Page  158)    .    Frontispiece 

"  HOW  DID  YOU  GET  HERE  ?  " 12 

SHE  WAITED  A  LITTLE  WHILE 22 

PRESENTLY  THEY  CAME  TO  A  PRECIPICE     .        .        .        .32 

ONE  OF  THEM  WAS  ENTIRELY  DIFFERENT  FROM  ALL  THE 
REST 42 

THEY  SAW  THE  HANDSOME  BOY  SLEEPING  ...  52 
HER  STEPMOTHER  CREPT  INTO  THE  ROOM  .  .  .  .66 

SHE   WOULD   HAVE   KNELT,    BUT    HE    LIFTED   HER   UP  .  80 

HE   WENT   A   LITTLE   WAY   DOWN    ONE    ROAD         .  .  .86 

A  LADY,  RICHLY  DRESSED,  CAME  OUT  OF  THE  WOODS  .        96 

AS   HE   DID   SO,    A    CROW   HOPPED   OUT  .....    114 

HE  SAW  AN  OLD  MAN,  NO  BIGGER  THAN  A  BROOMSTICK  124 
THE  WOODEN  HORSE  HAD  STAMPEDED  THE  ENEMY'S  ARMY  142 
YOU  NEVER  HEARD  SUCH  HOWLING  SINCE  YOU  WERE  BORN  150 

HE   WAS    SO   WEAK    THAT    HE   COULD  N'T   GET   UP  .  .    174 

THE  MONKEYS  WOULD  MAKE  FACES  AND  SQUEAL  AT  THE 
DOGS  .  180 


iv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"WHAT   18   THE   TROUBLE?"    SAYS    THE    OLDEST   RABBIT      194 
HE    RUBBED    THE    SlDE    OF    HIS    HEAD          ....         204 

A  QUEER-LOOKING  LITTLE  MAN  CAME  JOGGING  ALONG 

THE  ROAD 216 

"  HAVE  YOU  SEEN  ANYTHING  OF  A  STRAY  SHOE  ?  "  .  232 

A  HORRIBLE  MONSTER  GLARED  AT  THEM       .        .         .  244 

THE  BOY  TOLD  UNCLE  RAIN  THE  WHOLE  STORY      .  .  258 

AT  LAST  THE  ROBBERS  MANAGED  TO  ESCAPE         .         .  274 

"  HIT,  STICK  !  STICK,  HIT  ! "  SHE  CRIED     ....  292 

IT   MADE   HIM  GRIN   FROM   EAR   TO   EAR  .  .  298 


MR.  RABBIT   AT   HOME. 


I. 

BUSTER  JOHN  ALARMS  MR.  RABBIT. 

WHEN  Buster  John  and  Sweetest  Susan  and 
Drusilla  returned  home  after  their  first  visit  to 
Mr.  Thimblefinger's  queer  country,  a  curious  thing 
happened.  The  children  had  made  a  bargain 
to  say  nothing  about  what  they  had  seen  and 
heard,  but  one  day,  when  there  was  nobody  else  to 
hear  what  she  had  to  say,  Sweetest  Susan  con 
cluded  to  tell  her  mother  something  about  the 

o 

visit  she  had  made  next  door  to  the  world.  So 
she  began  and  told  about  the  Grandmother  of  the 
Dolls,  and  about  Little  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  and 
all  about  her  journey  under  the  spring.  Her  mo 
ther  paid  no  attention  at  first,  but  after  awhile  she 
became  interested,  and  listened  intently  to  every 
thing  her  little  daughter  said.  Sometimes  she 


6  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

looked  serious,  sometimes  she  smiled,  and  some 
times  she  laughed.  Sweetest  Susan  could  n't 
remember  everything,  but  she  told  enough  to 
astonish  her  mother. 

"  Darling,  when  did  you  dream  such  nonsense 
as  that  ?  "  the  lady  asked. 

"  Oh,  it  was  n't  a  dream,  mamma,"  cried  Sweet 
est  Susan.  "  I  thought  it  was  a  dream  at  first, 
but  it  turned  out  to  be  no  dream  at  all.  Now, 
please  don't  ask  brother  about  it,  and  please  don't 
ask  Drusilla,  for  we  promised  one  another  to  say 
nothing  about  it.  I  did  n't  intend  to  tell  you, 
but  I  forgot  and  began  to  tell  you  before  I 
thought." 

A  little  while  afterward  Sweetest  Susan's  mother 
was  telling  her  husband  about  the  wonderful  im 
agination  of  their  little  daughter,  and  then  the 
neighbors  got  hold  of  it,  and  some  of  the  old 
ladies  put  their  heads  together  over  their  teacups 
and  said  it  was  a  sign  that  Sweetest  Susan  was 
too  smart  to  stay  in  this  world  very  long. 

One  day,  while  Drusilla  was  helping  about  the 
house,  Sweetest  Susan's  mother  took  occasion  to 
ask  her  where  she  and  the  children  went  the  day 
they  failed  to  come  to  dinner. 


BUSTER  JOHN  ALARMS  MR.  RABBIT.  1 

"  We  wuz  off  gettin'  plums,  I  speck,"  replied 
Drusilla. 

"  Why,  there  were  no  plums  to  get,"  said  the 
lady. 

"  Well,  'm,  ef  't  wa'n't  plums,  hit  must  V  been 
hick'y  nuts,"  explained  Drusilla. 

"  Hickory  nuts  were  not  ripe,  stupid." 

"Maybe  dey  wa'n't,"  said  Drusilla  stolidly; 
"  but  dat  don't  hinder  we  chilluns  from  huntin' 
'em." 

"  You  know  you  did  n't  go  after  hickory  nuts, 
Drusilla,"  the  lady  insisted.  "  Now  I  want  you 
to  tell  me  where  you  and  the  children  went.  I  '11 
not  be  angry  if  you  tell  me,  but  if  you  don't " 

Drusilla  could  infer  a  good  deal  from  the  tone 
of  the  lady's  voice,  but  she  shook  her  head. 

"  Well,  'm,"  she  said,  "  we  went  down  dar  by  de 
spring,  an'  down  dar  by  de  spring  branch,  an'  all 
roun'  down  dar.  Ef  we  warn't  huntin'  plums  ner 
hick'y  nuts,  I  done  f ergot  what  we  wuz  huntin'." 

Drusilla  seemed  so  much  in  earnest  that  the 
lady  did  n't  push  the  inquiry,  but  when  she  went 
into  another  room  for  a  moment,  the  negro  girl 
looked  after  her  and  remarked  to  herself :  — 

"  I  done  crossed  my  heart  dat  I  would  n't  tell, 


8  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

an'  I  ain't  gwine  ter.  Ef  I  wuz  ter  tell,  she 
would  n't  b'lieve  me,  an'  so  clar  't  is !  " 

Sweetest  Susan  was  careful  to  say  nothing  to 
Buster  John  and  Drusilla  about  the  slip  of  the 
tongue  that  caused  her  to  tell  her  mother  about 
their  adventures  in  Mr.  Thimblefmger's  queer 
country ;  but  she  did  n't  feel  very  comfortable 
when  Drusilla  told  how  she  had  been  questioned 
by  her  mistress. 

"Ef  somebody  ain't  done  gone  an'  tol'  'er," 
said  Drusilla,  "  she  got  some  mighty  quare  no 
tions  in  'er  head." 

Buster  John,  who  had  ideas  of  his  own,  ignored 
all  this,  and  said  he  was  going  to  put  an  apple  in 
the  spring  the  next  day  and  watch  for  Mr.  Thiin- 
blefinger. 

"  Well,  ef  you  gwine  down  dar  any  mo',"  re 
marked  Drusilla,  "  you  kin  des  count  me  out,  kaze 
I  ain't  gwine  'long  wid  you.  I  'm  one  er  deze  yer 
kind  er  quare  folks  what  know  pine  blank  when 
dey  done  got  nuff.  I  been  shaky  ever  since  we 
went  down  in  dat  ar  place  what  wa'n't  no  place." 

"You  will  go,"  said  Buster  John. 

"  Huh  !  Don't  you  fool  yo'self,  honey  !  You 
can't  put  no  'pen'ence  in  a  skeer'd  nigger." 


BUSTER  JOHN  ALARMS  MR.  RABBIT.  9 

"  If  you  don't  go,  you  '11  wish  you  had/'  said 
Buster  John. 

"  How  come  ?  "  asked  Drusilla. 

"  Wait  and  see,"  replied  Buster  John. 

The  next  morning,  bright  and  early,  Buster 
John  put  an  apple  in  the  spring.  He  watched  it 
float  around  for  awhile,  and  then  his  attention 
was  attracted  to  something  else,  and  he  ran  away 
to  see  about  it.  Whatever  it  was,  it  interested 
him  so  much  that  he  forgot  all  about  the  apple  in 
the  spring,  and  everything  else  likely  to  remind 
him  of  Mr.  Thimblefinger's  queer  country. 

Buster  John  went  away  from  the  spring  and 
left  the  apple  floating  there.  No  sooner  had  he 
gone  than  one  of  the  house  servants  chanced  to 
come  along,  and  the  apple  was  seized  and  appro 
priated.  The  result  was  that  neither  Mr.  Thim- 
blefinger  nor  Mrs.  Meadows  saw  the  signal. 

Buster  John,  thinking  the  apple  had  remained 
in  the  spring  for  some  hours,  waited  patiently  for 
two  or  three  days  for  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  but  no 
Mr.  Thimblefinger  came.  Finally  the  boy  grew 
impatient,  as  youngsters  sometimes  do.  He  re 
membered  that  the  bottom  of  the  spring,  with  the 
daylight  shining  through,  was  the  sky  of  Mr. 


10  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Thimblefinger's  queer  country,  and  he  concluded 
to  o'ive  Mrs.  Meadows  and  the  rest  a  signal  that 

O  C3 

they  could  n't  fail  to  see.  So,  one  morning,  after 
water  had  been  carried  to  the  house  for  the  cook, 
and  the  washerwoman's  tubs  had  been  filled,  Bus 
ter  John  got  him  some  short  planks,  carrying 
them  to  the  spring  one  by  one.  These  he  placed 
across  the  top  of  the  gum,  or  curb,  close  together, 
so  as  to  shut  out  the  light.  Then  he  perched 
himself  on  a  stump  not  far  away,  and  watched  to 
see  what  the  effect  would  be.  He  knew  he  had 
the  sky  of  Mr.  Thimblefinger's  queer  country 
securely  roofed  in,  and  he  laughed  to  himself  as 
he  thought  of  the  predicament  Mr.  Rabbit  would 
be  in,  dropping  his  pipe  and  hunting  for  it  in 
the  dark. 

Buster  John   sat  there  a  long  time.     Mandy, 
the  washerwoman,  got  through  with  her  task  and 

'    O  c? 

went  toward  the  house,  balancing  a  big  basket  of 
wet  clothes  on  her  head  and  singing  as  she  went. 
Sweetest  Susan  and  Drusilla  had  grown  tired 
of  playing  with  the  dolls,  and  were  hunting  all 
over  the  place  for  Buster  John.  They  saw  him 
presently,  and  came  running  toward  him,  talking 
and  laughing.  He  shook  his  head  and  motioned 


BUSTER  JOHN  ALARMS  MR.  RABBIT.         11 

toward  the  spring.  They  became  quiet  at  once, 
and  began  to  walk  on  their  tiptoes.  They  seated 
themselves  on  the  stump  by  Buster  John's  side, 
and  waited  for  him  to  explain  himself. 

Presently  Sweetest  Susan  saw  the  boards  over 
the  spring.  "Oh,  what  have  you  done?"  she 
cried.  "  Why,  you  have  shut  out  the  light ! 
They  can't  see  a  wink.  I  don't  think  that 's  right ; 
do  you,  Drusilla?" 

"Don't  ax  me,  honey,"  replied  Drusilla.  "I 
ain't  gwine  ter  git  in  no  'spute.  Somebody  done 
gone  an'  put  planks  on  de  spring.  Dar  dey  is, 
an'  dar  dey  may  stay,  fer  what  I  keer.  I  hope 
dey  er  nailed  down." 

"  Please  take  the  boards  off,"  pleaded  Sweetest 
Susan. 

"  No,"  said  Buster  John.  "  I  put  an  apple  in 
the  spring  the  other  day,  and  they  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  it.  Maybe  they  '11  pay  some  attention 


now." 


Suddenly,  before  anybody  else  could  say  any 
thing,  Drusilla  screamed  and  rolled  off  the  stump. 
Buster  John  and  Sweetest  Susan  thought  a  bee 
had  stung  her.  But  it  was  not  a  bee.  She  had 
no  sooner  rolled  from  the  stump  than  she  sprang 


12  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

to  her  feet  and  cried  out,  "  Dar  he  is !  Look 
at  'im !  " 

Buster  John  and  Sweetest  Susan  turned  to 
look,  and  there,  upon  the  stump  beside  them, 
stood  Mr.  Thimblefinger  with  his  hat  in  hand, 
bowing  and  smiling  as  politely  as  you  please. 

"I  hope  you  are  well,"  he  said.  Then  he 
began  to  laugh,  as  he  turned  to  Buster  John. 
"  You  may  think  it  is  a  great  joke  to  come  to  the 
spring,  but  it 's  no  joke  to  me.  I  have  had  a  very 
hard  time  getting  here,  but  I  just  had  to  come. 
Mrs.  Meadows  thinks  there  is  a  total  eclipse  going 
on,  and  Mr.  Rabbit  has  gone  to  bed  and  covered 
up  his  head." 

"  How  did  you  get  here  ? "  asked  Buster 
John. 

"  Through  the  big  poplar  yonder,"  said  Mr. 
Thimblefinger.  "  It  is  hollow  from  top  to  bot 
tom,  but  it  was  so  dark  I  could  hardly  find  my 
way.  The  jay  birds  used  to  go  down  through 
the  poplar  every  Friday  until  I  put  up  the  bars 
and  shut  them  out.  I  had  almost  forgotten  the 
road." 

"Well,"  said  Buster  John,  "I  covered  the 
spring  so  that  you  might  know  we  had  n't  forgot- 


"HOW   DID   YOU   GET    HERE?! 


BUSTER  JOHN  ALARMS  MR.  RABBIT.         13 

ten  you.  I  dropped  an  apple  in  the  other  day, 
but  you  paid  no  attention  to  it." 

"I  saw  the  apple/'  remarked  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger,  "  but  it  did  n't  stay  in  the  spring  long.  It 
disappeared  in  a  few  minutes." 

"  Aha  !  I  know  !  "  exclaimed  Brasilia.  "  Dat 
ar  Minervy  nigger  got  it.  I  seed  her  comin' 
long  eatin'  a  apple,  and  I  boun'  you  she  de  ve'y 
nigger  what  got  it." 

"Well,  well!"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger.  "It 
makes  no  difference  now,  and  if  you  '11  get  ready 
we  '11  go  now  pretty  soon." 

"  Why,  I  thought  you  could  n't  go  down  through 
the  spring  until  nine  minutes  and  nine  seconds 
after  twelve,"  suggested  Buster  John. 

"  The  water  gets  wet  or  goes  dry  with  the 
tide,"  Mr.  Thimblefinger  explained.  "  To-day  we 
shall  have  to  go  at  nineteen  minutes  and  nine 
teen  seconds  after  nine.  It  was  nine  minutes  and 
nine  seconds  after  twelve  before,  and  now  it  is 
nineteen  minutes  and  nineteen  seconds  after  nine. 
Multiply  nineteen  by  nineteen,  add  the  answer  to 
gether,  and  you  get  nothing  but  nines.  You  see 
we  have  to  go  by  a  system."  Mr.  Thimblefinger 
was  very  solemn  as  he  said  this.  "  Now,  then, 


14  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

come  on.  We  have  n't  any  time  to  waste.  When 
the  nines  get  after  us,  we  must  be  going.  There 
are  four  of  us  now,  but  if  we  were  to  be  multi 
plied  by  nine  there  would  be  nine  of  us,  and  nine 
is  an  odd  number." 

"  How  would  we  be  nine  ?"  asked  Buster  John. 

"  It  's  very  simple,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger. 
"  Nine  times  four  are  thirty-six.  Three  and  six 
stand  for  thirty-six,  and  six  and  three  are  nine." 

Buster  John  laughed  as  he  ran  to  remove  the 
boards  from  the  spring.  In  a  few  moments  they 
were  all  ready  in  spite  of  Drusilla's  protests,  and 
at  nineteen  minutes  and  nineteen  seconds  after 
nine  they  walked  through  the  spring  gate  into 
Mr.  Thiniblefinger's  queer  country. 


II. 

WHERE  THE  THUNDER  LIVES. 

MRS.  MEADOWS,  Mr.  Rabbit,  Chickamy  Crany 
Crow,  and  Tickle-My-Toes  were  very  glad  to  see 
the  children,  especially  Mrs.  Meadows,  who  did 
everything  she  could  to  make  the  youngsters  feel 
that  they  had  conferred  a  great  obligation  on  her 
by  coming  back  again. 

"  I  '11  be  bound  you  forgot  to  bring  me  the 
apple  I  told  you  about,"  said  she. 

But  Sweetest  Susan  had  not  forgotten.  She 
had  one  in  her  pocket.  It  was  not  very  large, 
but  the  sun  had  painted  it  red  and  yellow,  and 
the  south  winds  that  kissed  it  had  left  it  fragrant 
with  the  perfume  of  summer. 

"  Now,  I  declare  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Meadows. 
"  To  think  you  should  remember  an  old  wo 
man  !  You  are  just  as  good  and  as  nice  as  you 
can  be  ! "  She  thanked  Sweetest  Susan  so  heartily 
that  Buster  John  began  to  look  and  feel  uncom- 

c> 

fortable,  —  seeing  which,  Mrs.  Meadows   placed 


16  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

her  hand  gently  on  his  shoulder.  "  Never  mind/5 
said  she,  "  boys  are  not  expected  to  be  as  thought 
ful  as  girls.  The  next  time  you  come,  you  may 
bring  me  a  hatful,  if  you  can  manage  to  think 
about  it." 

"  He  might  start  wid  'em,"  remarked  Drusilla, 
"  but  'fo'  he  got  here  he  'd  set  down  an'  eat  'em 
all  up,  ter  keep  from  stumpin'  his  toe  an'  spillin' 


'em." 


Buster  John  had  a  reply  ready,  but  he  did  not 
make  any,  for  just  at  that  moment  a  low,  rum 
bling  sound  was  heard.  It  seemed  to  come  nearer 
and  grow  louder,  and  then  it  died  away  in  the 
distance. 

"What  is  that?"  asked  Mrs.  Meadows,  in  an 
impressive  whisper. 

"  Thunder,"  answered  Mr.  Rabbit,  who  had 
listened  intently.  "  Thunder,  as  sure  as  you  're 
born." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefmger.  "I  saw  a 
cloud  coming  up  next  door,  just  before  we  came 
through  the  spring  gate." 

"  I  must  be  getting  nervous  in  my  old  age," 
remarked  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  I  had  an  idea  that  it 
was  too  late  in  the  season  for  thunder-storms." 


WHERE   THE   THUNDER  LIVES.  17 

"  That  may  be  so,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger, 
"  but  it  's  never  too  late  for  old  man  Thunder  to 
rush  out  on  his  front  porch  and  begin  to  cut  up 
his  capers.  But  there  's  no  harm  in  him." 

"  But  the  Lightning  kills  people  sometimes," 
said  Buster  John. 

"  The  Lightning  ?  Oh,  yes,  but  I  was  talking 
about  old  man  Thunder,"  replied  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger.  "  When  I  was  a  boy,  I  once  heard  of  a 
little  girl "  —  Mr.  Thimblefinger  suddenly  put 
his  hand  over  his  mouth  and  hung  his  head,  as  if 
he  had  been  caught  doing  something  wrong. 

"Why,  what  in  the  world  is  the  matter?" 
asked  Mrs.  Meadows. 

"  Oh,  nothing,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger. 
"  I  simply  forgot  my  manners." 

"I  don't  see  how,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit, 
frowning. 

"  Why,  I  was  about  to  tell  a  story  before  I  had 
been  asked." 

"  Well,  you  won't  disturb  me  by  telling  a  story, 
I  'm  sure,"  said  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  I  can  nod  just  as 
well  when  some  one  is  talking  as  when  everything 
is  still.  You  won't  pester  me  at  all.  Just  go 
ahead." 


18  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  Maybe  it  is  n't  story-telling  time,"  suggested 
Mrs.  Meadows. 

"  Oh,  don't  say  that,"  cried  Sweetest  Susan. 
"If  it  is  a  story,  please  tell  it." 

"  Well,  it  is  nothing  but  a  plain,  every-day 
story.  After  you  hear  it  you  '11  lean  back  in  your 
chair  and  wonder  why  somebody  did  n't  take  hold 
of  it  and  twist  it  into  a  real  old-fashioned  tale. 
It 's  old  fashioned  enough,  the  way  I  heard  it,  but 
I  always  thought  that  the  person  who  heard  it 
first  must  have  forgotten  parts  of  it." 

"  We  won't  mind  that,"  said  Sweetest  Susan. 

Mr.  Thimblefinger  settled  himself  comfortably 
and  began :  — 

"  Once  upon  a  time  —  I  don't  know  how  long 
ago,  but  not  very  long,  for  the  tale  was  new  to 
me  when  I  first  heard  it  —  once  upon  a  time  there 
was  a  little  girl  about  your  age  and  size  who  was 
curious  to  know  something  about  everything  that 
happened.  She  wanted  to  know  how  a  bird  could 
fly,  and  why  the  clouds  floated,  and  she  was  all 
the  time  trying  to  get  at  the  bottom  of  things. 

"  Well,  one  day  when  the  sky  was  covered  with 
clouds,  the  Thunder  came  rolling  along,  knocking 
at  everybody's  door  and  running  a  race  with  the 


WHERE   THE   THUNDER  LIVES.  19 

noise  it  made ;  the  little  girl  listened  and  wondered 
what  the  Thunder  was  and  where  it  went  to.  It 
was  n't  long  before  the  Thunder  came  rumbling 
along  again,  making  a  noise  like  a  four-horse 
wagon  running  away  on  a  covered  bridge. 

"  While  the  little  girl  was  standing  there,  won 
dering  and  listening,  an  old  man  with  a  bundle  on 
his  back  and  a  stout  staff  in  his  hand  came  along 
the  road.  He  bowed  and  smiled  when  he  saw  the 
little  girl,  but  as  she  did  n't  return  the  bow  or  the 
smile,  being  too  much  interested  in  listening  for 
the  Thunder,  he  paused  and  asked  her  what  the 
trouble  was. 

"  '  I  hope  you  are  not  lost  ? '  he  said. 

" '  Oh,  no,  sir,'  she  replied ;  '  I  was  listening 
for  the  Thunder  and  wondering  where  it  goes.' 

" '  Well,  as  you  seem  to  be  a  very  good  little 
girl,'  the  old  man  said,  '  I  don't  mind  telling  you. 
The  Thunder  lives  on  top  of  yonder  mountain. 
It  is  not  so  far  away.' 

"  '  Oh,  I  should  like  ever  so  much  to  go  there  ! ' 
exclaimed  the  little  girl. 

"  '  Why  not  ?  '  said  the  old  man.  (  The  moun 
tain  is  on  my  road,  and,  if  you  say  the  word,  we  '11 
go  together.' 


20  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  The  little  girl  took  the  old  man's  hand  and 
they  journeyed  toward  the  mountain  where  the 
Thunder  had  his  home.  The  way  was  long,  but 
somehow  they  seemed  to  go  very  fast.  The  old 
man  took  long  strides  forward,  and  he  was  strong 
enough  to  lift  the  little  girl  at  every  step,  so  that 
when  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  mountain  she 
was  not  very  tired. 

"  But,  as  the  mountain  was  very  steep  and  high, 
the  two  travelers  stopped  to  rest  themselves  before 
they  began  to  climb  it.  Its  sides  seemed  to  be 
rough  and  dark,  but  far  up  on  the  topmost  peak 
the  clouds  had  gathered,  and  from  these  the 
Lightning  flashed  incessantly.  The  little  girl 
saw  the  flashes  and  asked  what  they  meant. 

"  6  Wherever  the  Thunder  lives/  replied  the  old 
man,  '  there  the  Lightning  builds  its  nest.  No 
doubt  the  wind  has  blown  the  clouds  about  and 
torn  them  apart  and  scattered  them.  The  Light 
ning  is  piling  them  together  again,  and  fixing  a 
warm,  soft  place  to  sleep  to-night.' 

"  When  they  had  rested  awhile,  the  old  man 
said  it  was  time  to  be  going,  and  then  he  made 
the  little  girl  climb  on  his  back.  At  first  she 
did  n't  want  the  old  man  to  carry  her ;  but  he 


WHERE   THE   THUNDER  LIVES.  21 

declared  that  she  would  do  him  a  great  favor  by 
climbing  on  his  back  and  holding  his  bundle  in 
place.  So  she  sat  upon  the  bundle,  and  in  this 
way  they  went  up  the  high  mountain,  going 
almost  as  rapidly  as  the  little  girl  could  run  on 
level  ground.  She  enjoyed  it  very  much,  for, 
although  the  old  man  went  swiftly,  he  went 
smoothly,  and  the  little  girl  felt  as  safe  and  as 
comfortable  as  if  she  had  been  sitting  in  a  rock 
ing-chair. 

66  When  they  had  come  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  the  old  man  stopped  and  lifted  the  lit 
tle  girl  from  his  back.  '  I  can  go  no  farther/  he 
said.  '  The  rest  of  the  way  you  will  have  to  go 
alone.  There  is  nothing  to  fear.  Up  the  moun 
tain  yonder  you  can  see  the  gable  of  the  Thun 
der's  house.  Go  to  the  door,  knock,  and  do  not 
be  alarmed  at  any  noise  you  hear.  When  the 
time  comes  for  you  to  go,  you  will  find  me  await 
ing  you  here.' 

"  The  little  girl  hesitated,  but  she  had  come  so 
far  to  see  where  the  Thunder  lived  that  she  would 
not  turn  back  now.  So  she  went  forward,  and 
soon  came  to  the  door  of  Mr.  Thunder's  house. 
It  was  a  very  big  door  to  a  very  big  house.  The 


22  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

knocker  was  so  heavy  that  the  little  girl  could 
hardly  lift  it,  and  when  she  let  it  fall  against  the 
panel,  the  noise  it  made  jarred  the  building  and 
sent  a  loud  echo  rolling  and  tumbling  down  the 
mountain.  The  little  girl  thought,  '  What  have  I 
done?  If  the  Thunder  is  taking  a  nap  before 
dinner,  he  '11  be  very  angry.' 

"  She  waited  a  little  while,  not  feeling  very 
comfortable.  Presently  she  heard  heavy  footsteps 
coming  down  the  wide  hall  to  the  door. 

" '  I  thought  I  heard  some  one  knocking/  said 
a  hoarse,  gruff  voice.  Then  the  big  door  flew 
open,  and  there,  standing  before  her,  the  little  girl 
saw  a  huge  figure  that  towered  almost  to  the  top 
of  the  high  door.  It  wore  heavy  boots,  a  big 
overcoat,  and  under  its  long,  thick  beard  there 
was  a  muffler  a  yard  wide.  The  little  girl  was 
very  much  frightened  at  first,  but  she  soon  re 
membered  that  there  was  nothing  for  such  a  little 
bit  of  a  girl  to  be  afraid  of. 

"  The  figure,  that  seemed  to  be  so  terrible  at 
first  glance,  had  nothing  threatening  about  it. 
'  Who  knocked  at  the  door  ? '  it  cried. 

"  Its  voice  sounded  so  loud  that  the  little  girl 
put  her  fingers  in  her  ears. 


SHE   WAITED   A    LITTLE   WHILE 


WHERE  THE   THUNDER  LIVES.  23 

"  ( Don't  talk  so  loud,  please/  she  said.  ( I  'm 
not  deaf.' 

"  '  Oh  ! '  cried  the  giant  at  the  door.  '  You  are 
there,  are  you  ?  You  are  so  small  I  did  n't  see 
you  at  first.  Come  in  ! ' 

66  The  little  girl  started  to  go  in,  and  then 
paused.  '  Are  you  the  Thunder  ? '  she  asked. 

" '  Why,  of  course,'  was  the  reply ;  '  who  else 
did  you  think  it  was  ?  ' 

"'I  did  n't  know,'  said  the  little  girl.  <I 
wanted  to  be  certain  about  it.' 

"  '  Come  in,'  said  the  Thunder.  '  It  is  n't  often 
I  have  company  from  the  people  below,  and  I  'm 
glad  you  found  me  at  home.' 

The  Thunder  led  the  way  down  the  hall  and 
into  a  wide  sitting-room,  where  a  fire  was  burning 
brightly  in  the  biggest  fireplace  the  little  girl  had 
ever  seen.  A  two-horse  waff  on  could  turn  around 

c5 

in  it  without  touching  the  andirons.  A  pair  of 
tongs  as  tall  as  a  man  stood  in  one  corner,  and  in 
the  other  corner  was  a  shovel  to  match.  A  long: 

o 

pipe  lay  on  the  mantel. 

"  '  There  's  no  place  for  you  to  sit  except  on  the 
floor,'  said  the  Thunder. 

"  '  I  can  sit  on  the  bed/  suggested  the  little 
girl. 


24  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  The  Thunder  laughed  so  loudly  that  the  little 
girl  had  to  close  her  ears  again.  '  Why,  that  is 
no  bed/  the  Thunder  said  when  it  could  catch  its 
breath  ;  ( that  's  my  footstool.' 

" '  Well/  said  the  little  girl,  '  it  's  big  enough 
for  a  bed.  It  's  very  soft  and  nice.' 

" '  I  find  it  very  comfortable/  said  the  Thun 
der,  '  especially  when  I  get  home  after  piloting  a 
tornado  through  the  country.  It  is  tough  work, 
as  sure  as  you  are  born.' 

"  The  Thunder  took  the  long  pipe  from  the 
mantel  and  lit  it  with  a  pine  splinter,  the  flame  of 
which  flashed  through  the  windows  with  dazzling 
brightness. 

o 

"  '  Folks  will  say  that  is  heat  lightning/  re 
marked  the  little  girl. 

" '  Yes/  replied  the  Thunder ;  '  farmers  to  the 
north  of  us  will  say  there  is  going  to  be  a  drought, 
because  of  lightning  in  the  south.  Farmers  to 
the  south  of  us  will  say  there  's  going  to  be  rain, 
because  of  lightning  in  the  north.  None  of  them 
knows  that  I  am  smoking  my  pipe.' 

"  But  somehow,  in  turning  around,  the  Thunder 
knocked  the  big  tongs  over,  and  they  fell  upon 
the  floor  with  a  tremendous  crash.  The  floor 


WHERE   THE   THUNDER  LIVES.  25 

appeared  to  give  forth  a  sound  like  a  drum,  only 
a  thousand  times  louder,  and,  although  the  little 
girl  had  her  fingers  in  her  ears,  she  could  hear 
the  echoes  roused  under  the  house  by  the  falling 
tongs  go  rattling  down  the  mountain  side  and  out 
into  the  valley  beyond. 

"  The  Thunder  sat  in  the  big  armchair  smok 
ing,  and  listening  with  legs  crossed.  The  little 
girl  appeared  to  be  sorry  that  she  had  come. 

" '  Now,  that  is  too  bad/  said  the  Thunder. 
'  The  Whirlwind  in  the  south  will  hear  that  and 
come  flying ;  the  West  Wind  will  hear  it  and 
come  rushing,  and  they  will  drag  the  clouds  after 
them,  thinking  that  I  am  ready  to  take  my  ride. 
But  it  's  all  my  fault.  Instead  of  turning  the 
winds  in  the  pasture,  I  ought  to  have  put  them  in 
the  stable.  Here  they  come  now  ! ' 

"  The  little  girl  listened,  and,  sure  enough,  the 
whirlwinds  from  the  south  and  the  west  came 
rushing  around  the  house  of  the  Thunder.  The 
west  wind  screamed  around  the  windows,  and  the 
whirlwinds  from  the  south  whistled  through  the 
cracks  and  keyholes. 

" '  I  guess  I  '11  have  to  go  with  them,'  said  the 
Thunder,  rising  from  the  chair  and  walking 


26  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

around  the  room.  '  It  's  the  only  way  to  quiet 
them/ 

"  '  Do  you  always  wear  your  overcoat  ? '  the  lit 
tle  girl  asked. 

"  '  Always/  replied  the  Thunder.  '  There  's  no 
telling  what  moment  I  '11  be  called.  Sometimes  I 
go  just  for  a  frolic,  and  sometimes  I  am  obliged 
to  go.  Will  you  stay  until  I  return  ? ' 

"  '  Oh,  no/  the  little  girl  replied  ;  'the  house  is 
too  large.  I  should  be  afraid  to  stay  here  alone/ 

"  '  I  am  sorry/  said  the  Thunder.  c  Come  and 
see  me  get  in  my  carriage.' 

"  They  went  to  the  door.  The  whirlwinds 
from  the  south  and  the  winds  from  the  west  had 
drawn  the  clouds  to  the  steps,  and  into  these  the 
Thunder  climbed. 

"  '  Good-by/  he  cried  to  the  little  girl.  <  Stay 
where  you  are  until  we  are  out  of  sight/ 

"  There  was  a  flash  of  light,  a  snapping  sound, 
a  rattling  crash,  and  the  Thunder,  with  the  clouds 
for  his  carriage  and  the  winds  for  his  horses^  went 
roaming  and  rumbling  through  the  sky,  over  the 
hills  and  valleys/' 

Mr.  Thimblefinger  paused  and  looked  at  the 
children.  They,  expecting  him  to  go  on,  said 
nothing. 


WHERE   THE   THUNDER  LIVES.  27 

"  How  did  you  like  my  story  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Is  it  a  story  ?  "  inquired  Buster  John. 

"  Well,  call  it  a  tale/'  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger. 

"  Hit  's  too  high  up  in  de  elements  for  ter  suit 
me,"  said  Drusilla,  candidly. 

"What  became  of  the  little  girl?"  asked 
Sweetest  Susan. 

"  When  the  Thunder  rolled  away/'  said  Mr. 
Thimblefinger,  "  she  went  back  to  where  the  old 
man  was  awaiting  her,  and  he,  having  nothing  to 
do,  carried  her  to  the  Jumping-Off  Place." 


III. 

THE     JUMPING-OFF     PLACE. 

THE  children  looked  at  Mr.  Thimblefinger  to 
see  whether  he  was  joking  about  the  Jumping-Off 
Place,  but  he  seemed  to  be  very  serious. 

"  I  have  heard  of  the  Jumping-Off  Place,"  re 
marked  Mrs.  Meadows,  "  but  I  had  an  idea  it  was 
just  a  saying." 

"Well,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  " where 
you  see  a  good  deal  of  smoke,  there  must  be  some 
fire.  When  you  hear  a  great  many  different  peo 
ple  talking  about  anything,  there  must  be  some 
thing  in  it." 

"  What  did  the  little  girl  see  when  she  got 
to  the  Jumping-Off  Place  ? "  inquired  Sweetest 
Susan. 

"  It  was  this  way,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger : 
"  When  the  whirlwinds  from  the  south  and  the 
winds  from  the  west,  working  in  double  harness, 
carried  the  thick  clouds  away,  and  the  Thunder 
with  them,  the  little  girl  went  back  to  the  place 


THE  JUMPING-OFF  PLACE.  29 

where  she  had  left  the  old  man  who  had  carried 
her  up  the  mountain. 

"  She  found  him  waiting.  He  was  sitting  at 
the  foot  of  a  tree,  sleeping  peacefully,  but  he 
awoke  at  once. 

" '  You  see  I  am  waiting  for  you/  he  said. 
' How  did  you  enjoy  your  visit?' 

" '  I  did  n't  enjoy  it  much/  replied  the  little 
girl.  '  Everything  was  so  large,  and  the  Thunder 
made  so  much  fuss.' 

" '  I  hope  you  did  n't  mind  that/  said  the  old 
man.  '  The  Thunder  is  a  great  growler  and 
grumbler,  but  when  that  's  said,  all  's  said.  I 
am  sorry,  though,  you  did  n't  have  a  good  time. 
I  suppose  you  think  it  is  my  fault,  but  it  is  n't. 
If  you  say  so,  I  '11  go  to  the  Jumping-Oif  Place.' 

"  '  Where  is  that  ?  '  asked  the  little  girl. 

"'Just  beyond  the  Well  at  the  End  of  the 
World.' 

"  '  If  it  is  n't  too  far,  let  's  go  there/  said  the 
little  girl. 

"  So  the  old  man  lifted  her  on  his  back,  and 
they  went  on  their  way.  They  must  have  gone 
very  swiftly,  for  it  was  n't  long  before  they  came 
to  the  Well  at  the  End  of  the  World.  An  old 


30  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

woman  was  sitting  near  the  Well,  combing  her 
hair.  She  paid  no  attention  to  the  travelers,  nor 
they  to  her.  When  they  had  gone  beyond  the 
Well  a  little  distance,  the  little  girl  noticed  that 
the  sky  appeared  to  be  very  close  at  hand.  It 
was  no  longer  blue,  but  dark,  and  seemed  to 
hang  down  like  a  blanket  or  a  curtain." 

"  But  that  could  n't  be,  you  know,"  said  Bus 
ter  John,  "for  the  sky  is  no  sky  at  all.  It  is 
nothing  but  space." 

"  How  comes  it  dey  call  it  sky,  ef  't  ain't  no 
sky?"  asked  Drusilla,  indignantly.  "An'  how 
come  't  ain't  no  sky,  when  it  's  right  up  dar,  plain 
ez  de  han'  fo'  yo'  face  ?  Dat  what  I  'd  like  ter 
know." 

"  Why,  the  moon  is  thousands  of  miles  away," 
said  Buster  John,  "and  some  of  the  stars  are 
millions  and  millions  of  miles  farther  than  the 


moon." 


"  Dat  what  dey  say,"  replied  Drusilla,  "  but 
how  dey  know?  Whar  de  string  what  dey 
medjud  'em  wid  ?  Tell  me  dat !  " 

"  What  about  our  sky  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Meadows, 
smiling.  "  You  would  never  think  it  was  only 
the  bottom  of  the  spring  if  you  did  n't  know  it ; 
now  would  you  ?  " 


THE  JUMPING-OFF  PLACE.  31 

Buster  John  had  nothing  to  say  in  reply  to 
this.  Whereupon  Sweetest  Susan  begged  Mr, 
Thimblefinger  to  please  go  on  with  his  story. 

"  Well/'  said  he,  "  if  I  am  to  go  on  with  it, 
I  '11  have  to  tell  it  just  as  I  heard  it.  I  '11  have 
to  put  the  sky  just  where  I  was  told  it  was. 
When  the  little  girl  and  the  old  man  came  close 
to  the  Jumping-Off  Place,  they  saw  that  the  sky 
was  hanging  close  at  hand.  It  may  have  been 
far,  it  may  have  been  near,  but  to  the  little  girl 
it  seemed  to  be  close  enough  to  touch,  and  she 
wished  very  much  for  a  long  pole,  so  that  she 
could  see  whether  it  was  made  of  muslin  or  ging 
hams. 

"  Presently  they  came  to  a  precipice.  There 
was  nothing  beyond  it  and  nothing  below  it. 
'  This,'  said  the  old  man  to  the  little  girl,  '  is  the 
Jumping-Off  Place/ 

"  '  Does  any  one  jump  off  here  ? '  said  the  little 
girl. 

"  '  Not  that  I  know  of,'  replied  the  old  man, 
6  but  if  they  should  take  a  notion  to,  the  place  is 
all  ready  for  them.' 

"  <  Where  would  I  fall  to,  if  I  jumped  off  ? '  the 
little  girl  asked. 


32  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  To  Nowhere/  answered  the  old  man. 

" ''  That  is  very  funny/  said  the  little  girl. 

"  '  Yes/  remarked  the  old  man,  '  you  can  get 
to  the  End  of  the  World,  but  you  would  have  to 
travel  many  a  long  year  before  you  get  to  No 
where.  Some  say  it  is  a  big  city,  some  say  it 
is  a  high  mountain,  and  some  say  it  is  a  wide 
plain/ 

"  The  little  girl  went  to  the  Jumping-Off  Place 
and  looked  over,  the  old  man  holding  her  hand. 

"  '  Why,  I  see  the  moon  shining  down  there/ 
she  said.  She  was  glad  to  see  so  familiar  a  face. 

"The  old  man  laughed.  '  Yes/  he  said,  '  the 
moon  is  very  fond  of  shining  down  there,  and  it 
runs  away  from  the  sun  every  chance  it  gets,  and 
hunts  up  the  darkest  places,  so  that  it  may  shine 
there  undisturbed.  To-day  it  is  shining  down 
there  where  the  sun  can't  see  it,  but  to-night  it 
will  creep  up  here,  when  the  sun  goes  away,  and 
shine  the  whole  night  through.' 

"  Turning  back,  the  old  man  and  the  little  girl 
came  again  to  the  Well  at  the  End  of  the  World. 
The  old  woman  was  sitting  there,  combing  her 
long  white  hair.  This  time  she  looked  hard  at 
the  little  girl  and  smiled,  singing :  — 


PRESENTLY   THEY   CAME   TO   A    PRECIPICE 


THE  JUMPING-OFF  PLACE.  33 

"  '  When  the  heart  is  young  the  well  is  dry  — 
Oh,  it  's  good-by,  dearie  !  good-by  ! ' 

"  But  the  old  man  shook  his  head.  '  We  have 
not  come  here  for  nothing,  Sister  Jane/  he  said. 
With  that  he  took  a  small  vial,  tied  a  long  string 
to  it,  and  let  it  down  the  well.  He  fished  about 
until  the  vial  was  full  of  water,  drew  it  to  the  top, 
and  corked  it  tightly.  The  water  sparkled  in  the 
sun  as  if  it  were  full  of  small  diamonds.  Then 
he  placed  it  carefully  in  his  pocket,  bowed  po 
litely  to  the  old  woman,  who  was  still  combing 
her  long,  white  hair,  and,  smiling,  lifted  the  little 
girl  to  his  back,  and  returned  along  the  road  they 
had  come,  past  the  Thunder's  house  and  down 
the  mountain  side,  until  they  reached  the  little 
girl's  home.  Then  he  took  the  vial  of  sparkling 
water  from  his  pocket.  '  Take  it/  he  said,  ( and 
wherever  you  go  keep  it  with  you.  Touch  a  drop 
of  it  to  your  forehead  when  Friday  is  the  thir 
teenth  day  of  a  month,  and  you  will  grow  up  to 
be  both  wise  and  beautiful.  When  you  are  in 
trouble,  turn  the  vial  upside  down  —  so  —  and 
hold  it  in  that  position  while  you  count  twenty- 
six,  and  some  of  your  friends  will  come  to  your 
aid,' 


34  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  The  little  girl  thanked  the  old  man  as  po 
litely  as  she  knew  how. 

"  '  Do  you  know  why  I  have  carried  you  to  the 
Thunder's  house  and  to  the  Jumping-Off  Place, 
and  why  I  have  given  you  a  vial  of  this  rare 
water  ? '  The  little  girl  shook  her  head.  <  Well, 
one  day,  not  long  ago,  you  were  sitting  by  the 
roadside  with  some  of  your  companions.  You 
were  all  eating  cake.  A  beggar  came  along  and 
asked  for  a  piece.  You  alone  gave  him  any,  and 
you  gave  him  all  you  had/ 

"  '  Were  you  the  beggar  ?  '  asked  the  little  girl, 
smiling  and  blushing. 

O  o 

"  *  That  I  leave  you  to  guess,'  replied  the  old 
man.  He  kissed  the  little  girl's  hand,  and  was 
soon  hid  from  sight  by  a  turn  in  the  road." 

Mr.  Thimblefinger  stopped  short  here,  and 
waited  to  see  what  the  children  would  say.  They 
had  listened  attentively,  but  they  manifested  no 
very  great  interest. 

"  I  reckon  they  think  there  is  more  talk  than 
tale  in  what  you  have  told,"  remarked  Mr.  Rab 
bit,  leaning  back  in  his  chair.  "  That  's  the  way 
it  appeared  to  me." 

"  Well,  I  '11   not  say  that  I  have  come  to  the 


THE  JUMPING-OFF  PLACE.  35 

end  of  my  story,"  remarked  Mr.  Tliimblefinger, 
with  some  show  of  dignity,  "  but  I  have  come  to 
the  part  where  we  can  rest  awhile,  so  as  to  give 
Mr.  Rabbit  a  chance  to  see  if  he  can  do  any  bet 
ter.  We  '11  allow  the  little  girl  to  grow  some, 
just  as  she  does  in  the  story." 


IV. 


THE    BLUE    HEN'S    CHICKEN. 

"  I  'M  not  much  of  a  story-teller,"  said  Mr. 
Rabbit,  "  and  I  never  set  up  for  one,  but  I  will 
say  that  I  like  the  rough-and-tumble  tales  a  great 
deal  better  than  I  do  the  kind  where  some  great 
somebody  is  always  coming  in  with  conjurings 
and  other  carryings-on.  It  's  on  account  of  my 
raising,  I  reckon." 

"  Well,  stories  can't  be  all  alike,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Meadows.  "  You  might  as  well  expect  a 
fiddle  to  play  one  tune." 

"  Tell  us  the  kind  of  story  you  like  best,"  said 
Buster  John  to  Mr.  Rabbit. 

"  No,  not  now,"  responded  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  I  '11 
do  that  some  other  time.  I  happened  to  think 
just  now  of  a  little  circumstance  that  I  used  to 
hear  mentioned  when  I  was  younger. 

"  In  the  country  next  door  there  used  to  be  a 
great  many  chickens.  Some  were  of  the  barn 
yard  breed,  some  were  of  the  kind  they  call  game, 


THE  BLUE  HEN'S  CHICKEN.  37 

some  were  black,  some  were  white,  some  were 
brown,  some  were  speckled,  and  some  had  their 
feathers  curled  the  wrong  way.  Among  all  these 
there  was  one  whose  name,  as  well  as  I  can  re 
member,  was  Mrs.  Blue  Hen." 

"Was  she  really  blue?"  Sweetest  Susan  in 
quired. 

"  Well,  not  an  indigo  blue,"  replied  Mr.  Rab 
bit,  after  reflecting  a  moment,  "  nor  yet  a  sky 
blue.  She  was  just  a  plain,  dull,  every-day  blue. 
But,  such  as  she  was,  she  was  very  fine.  She  be 
longed  to  one  of  the  first  families  and  moved  in 

o 

the  very  best  circles.  She  was  trim-looking,  so 
I  've  heard  said,  and,  as  she  grew  older,  came  to 
have  a  very  bad  temper,  so  much  so  that  she  used 
to  fly  at  a  hawk  if  he  came  near  her  premises. 
Some  of  her  neighbors  used  to  whisper  it  around 
that  she  tried  to  crow  like  a  rooster,  but  this  was 
after  she  had  grown  old  and  hard-headed. 

"  When  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  was  growing  up,  she 
was  very  nice  and  particular.  She  could  n't  bear 
to  get  water  on  her  feet,  and  she  was  always 
shaking  the  dust  from  her  clothes.  Some  said 
she  was  finicky,  and  some  said  she  was  nervous. 
Once,  when  she  fanned  out  little  Billy  Bantam, 


38  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

who  called  on  her  one  day,  a  great  many  of  her 
acquaintances  said  she  would  never  settle  down 
and  make  a  good  housekeeper. 

"  But  after  awhile  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  concluded 
that  it  was  about  time  for  her  to  have  a  family  of 
her  own,  so  she  went  away  off  from  the  other 
chickens  and  made  her  a  nest  in  the  middle  of  a 
thick  briar  patch.  She  made  her  a  nest  there  and 
laid  an  egg.  It  was  new  and  white,  and  Mrs. 
Blue  Hen  was  very  proud  of  it.  She  was  so 
proud,  in  fact,  that,  although  she  had  made  up 
her  mind  to  make  no  fuss  over  it,  she  went  run 
ning  and  cackling  toward  the  house,  just  as  any 
common  hen  would  do.  She  made  so  much  fuss 
that  away  down  in  the  branch  Mr.  Willy  Weasel 
winked  at  Miss  Mirny  Mink. 

"  '  Do  you  hear  that  ? '  says  he. 

"  ( I  never  heard  anything  plainer  in  my  life/ 
says  she. 

"  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  was  so  proud  of  her  new, 
white  egg  that  she  went  back  after  awhile  to  look 
at  it.  There  it  was,  shining  white  in  the  grass. 
She  covered  it  up  and  hid  it  as  well  as  she  could, 
and  then  she  went  about  getting  dinner  ready. 

"  The  next  morning  she  went  to  the  nest  and 


THE  BLUE  HEN'S  CHICKEN.  39 

laid  another  egg  just  like  the  first  one.  This 
happened  for  three  mornings ;  but  on  the  fourth 
morning,  when  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  went  back,  she 
found  four  eggs  in  the  nest,  and  all  four  appeared 
to  be  dingy  and  muddy  looking.  She  was  very 
much  astonished  and  alarmed,  as  well  she  might 

7  O 

be,  for  here  right  before  her  eyes  she  saw  four 
eggs,  when  she  knew  in  reason  that  there  should 
be  but  three ;  and  not  only  that,  they  were  all 
dingy  and  dirty. 

"  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  was  so  excited  that  she  took 
off  her  bonnet  and  began  to  fan  herself.  Then 
she  wondered  whether  she  had  not  made  a  mis 
count  ;  whether  she  had  not  really  laid  four  in 
stead  of  three  eggs.  The  more  she  thought  about 
it,  the  more  confused  she  became.  She  hung  her 
bonnet  on  a  blackberry  bush  and  tried  to  count 
off  the  days  on  her  toes.  She  began  to  count,  — 
6  One,  two,  three/  -  -  and  she  would  have  stopped 
there,  but  she  could  n't.  She  had  four  toes  on 
her  foot,  and  she  was  compelled  to  couftt  them 
all.  There  was  a  toe  on  the  foot  for  every  egg 
in  the  nest. 

"  This  caused  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  to  feel  somewhat 
more  comfortable  in  mind  and  body,  but  she  was 


40  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

left  in  such  a  hysterical  state  that  she  went  off 
cackling  nervously,  and  postponed  laying  an  egg 
until  late  in  the  afternoon.  After  that  there  were 
five  in  the  nest,  and  she  kept  on  laying  until  there 
were  ten  altogether.  Then  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  rum 
pled  up  her  feathers  and  got  mad  with  herself,  and 
went  to  setting.  I  reckon  that  's  what  you  call 
it.  I  've  heard  some  call  it  '  setting '  and  others 

o 

6  sitting.'  Once,  when  I  was  courting,  I  spoke  of 
a  sitting  hen,  but  the  young  lady  said  I  was  too 
prissy  for  anything." 

"What  is  prissy?"  asked  Sweetest  Susan. 

Mr.  Rabbit  shut  his  eyes  and  scratched  his  ear. 
Then  he  shook  his  head  slowly. 

"  It 's  nothing  but  a  girl's  word,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Meadows  by  way  of  explanation.  "  It  means 
that  somebody  's  trying  hard  to  show  off." 

"  I  reckon  that  's  so,"  said  Mr.  Rabbit,  open 
ing  his  eyes.  He  appeared  to  be  much  relieved. 
"  Well,  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  got  mad  and  went  to  set 
ting.  She  was  in  a  snug  place  and  nobody  both 
ered  her.  It  was  such  a  quiet  place  that  she  could 
hear  Mr.  Willy  Weasel  and  Miss  Mirny  Mink  gos 
siping  in  the  calamus  bushes,  and  she  could  hear 
Mrs.  Puddle  Duck  wading  in  the  branch.  One 


THE  BLUE  HEN'S  CHICKEN.  41 

day  Mrs.  Puddle  Duck  made  so  bold  as  to  push 
her  way  through  the  briars  and  look  in  upon 
Mrs.  Blue  Hen.  But  her  visit  was  not  relished. 
Mrs.  Blue  Hen  rumpled  her  feathers  up  and 
spread  out  her  tail  to  such  a  degree  and  squalled 
out  such  a  harsh  protest  that  Mrs.  Puddle  Duck 
was  glad  to  waddle  off  with  whole  bones.  But 
when  she  got  back  to  the  branch  she  spluttered 
about  a  good  deal,  crying  out  : 

"  '  Aha  !  aha  !  quack,  quack  !  Aha  !  You  are 
there,  are  you  ?  Aha  !  you  '11  have  trouble  before 
you  get  away.  Aha  ! ' 

"  Now  the  fact  was  that  Mrs.  Puddle  Duck  was 
the  very  one  that  had  caused  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  all 
the  trouble,"  said  Mr.  Rabbit,  nodding  his  head 
solemnly.  "  While  wading  in  the  branch,  Mrs. 
Puddle  Duck  had  seen  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  going  to 
her  nest  for  three  days,  slipping  and  creeping 
through  the  weeds  and  bushes,  and  she  wanted 
to  know  what  all  the  slipping  and  creeping  was 
about.  So,  on  the  third  day  Mrs.  Puddle  Duck 
did  some  slipping  and  creeping  on  her  own  ac 
count.  She  crept  up  close  enough  to  see  Mrs. 
Blue  Hen  on  her  nest,  and  she  was  near  enough  to 
see  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  when  she  ran  away  cackling. 


42  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  Then  Mrs.  Puddle  Duck  waddled  up  and 
peeped  in  the  nest.  There  she  saw  three  eggs  as 
white  and  as  smooth  as  ivory,  and  the  sight  filled 
her  with  jealousy.  She  began  to  talk  to  her 
self  :  - 

"  '  I  knew  she  must  be  mighty  proud,  the  stuck- 
up  thing !  I  can  see  that  by  the  way  she  steps 
around  here.  Quack,  quack  !  and  I  '11  just  show 
her  a  thing  or  two.' 

"  Then  and  there  Mrs.  Puddle  Duck,  all  muddy 
as  she  was,  got  in  Mrs.  Blue  Hen's  nest  and  sat 
on  her  beautiful  white  eg'or-s  and  soiled  them. 

Oo 

And  even  that  was  not  all.  Out  of  pure  spite 
Mrs.  Puddle  Duck  laid  one  of  her  own  dingy- 
looking  eggs  in  Mrs.  Blue  Hen's  nest,  and  that 
was  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble.  That  was  the 
reason  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  found  four  dingy  eggs  in 
her  nest  when  there  ought  to  have  been  three 
clean  white  ones. 

66  Well,  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  went  to  setting,  and 
after  so  long  a  time  nine  little  chickens  were 
hatched.  She  was  very  proud  of  them.  She 
taught  them  how  to  talk,  and  then  she  wanted  to 
get  oif  her  nest  and  teach  them  how  to  scratch 
about  and  earn  their  own  living.  But  there  was 


ONE   OF  THEM  WAS   ENTIRELY   DIFFERENT    FROM   ALL   THE 
REST 


THE  BLUE  HEN'S  CHICKEN.  43 

still  one  egg  to  hatch,  and  so  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  con 
tinued  to  set  on  it.  One  day  she  made  up  her 
mind  to  take  her  chicks  off  and  leave  the  egg  that 
would  n't  hatch.  The  old  Speckled  Hen  hap 
pened  to  be  passing  and  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  asked 
her  advice.  But  the  old  Speckled  Hen  was  very 
much  shocked  when  she  heard  the  particulars. 

"  '  What !  with  nine  chickens  ! '  she  cried. 
'  Why,  nine  is  an  odd  number.  It  would  never 
do  in  the  world.  Hatch  out  the  other  egg.' 

"  But  young  people  are  very  impatient,  and 
Mrs.  Blue  Hen  was  young.  She  fretted  and  wor 
ried  a  good  deal,  but  in  a  few  days  the  tenth  egg 
hatched.  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  felt  very  much  better 
after  this.  In  fact,  she  felt  so  comfortable  that 
she  did  n't  take  the  trouble  to  look  at  the  chicken 
that  hatched  from  the  tenth  egg".  But  when  she 

oo 

brought  her  children  off  the  nest  she  was  very 
much  astonished  to  find  that  one  of  them  was  en 
tirely  different  from  all  the  rest.  She  was  not 
only  surprised,  but  shocked.  Nine  of  her  chil 
dren  were  as  neat-looking  as  she  could  wish  them 
to  be,  but  the  tenth  one  was  a  sight  to  see.  It 
had  weak  eyes,  a  bill  as  broad  as  a  case-knife,  and 
big,  flat  feet.  Its  feet  were  so  big  that  it  wad- 


44  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

died  when  it  walked,  and  all  the  toes  of  each  foot 
were  joined  together. 

"  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  had  very  high  notions.  She 
wanted  everybody  to  think  that  she  belonged  to 
the  quality,  but  this  wabbly  chicken  with  a  broad 
bill  and  a  foot  that  had  no  instep  to  it  took  her 
pride  down  a  peg.  She  kept  her  children  hid  as 
long  as  she  could,  but  she  had  to  come  out  in 
public  after  a  while,  and  when  she  did  —  well, 
I  '11  let  you  know  there  was  an  uproar  in  the 
barnyard.  The  old  Speckled  Hen  was  the  first 
to  begin  it.  She  cried  out :  — 

o 

"  '  Look  —  look  —  look  !  Look  at  the  Blue 
Hen's  chickens ! ' 

"  Then  the  Guinea  hens  began  to  laugh,  and  the 
old  Turkey  Gobbler  was  so  tickled  he  came  near 
swallowing  his  snout.  Mrs.  Blue  Hen  hung  her 
head  with  shame,  and  carried  her  children  away 
off  in  the  woods. 

"But  her  flat-footed  chicken  gave  rise  to  a  by 
word  in  all  that  country.  When  any  stranger 
came  along  looking  rough  and  ragged,  it  was 
the  common  saying  that  he  was  the  Blue  Hen's 
chicken." 

"I  've  heard  it  many  a  time,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Meadows. 


THE  BLUE  HEN'S  CHICKEN.  45 

"There  was  no  story  in  that,"  Buster  John 
suggested. 

"  No,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  Just  some  every 
day  facts  picked  up  and  strung  together." 

"  Speaking  of  stories,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows,  "  I 
have  one  in  my  mind  that  is  a  sure  enough  story 
—  one  of  the  old-fashioned  kind." 

"  Well,  please,  ma'am,  tell  it,"  said  Buster 
John,  so  seriously  that  they  all  laughed  except 
Mr.  Kabbit. 


V. 

HOW    A    KING    WAS    FOUND. 

"  WHAT  about  the  little  girl  who  had  the  vial  of 
sparkling  water  ? "  said  Sweetest  Susan,  turning 
to  Mr.  Thimbleflnger,  just  as  Mrs.  Meadows  was 
about  to  begin  her  story. 

"  Oh,  she  is  growing,"  replied  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger. 

Buster  John  frowned  at  his  sister,  as  boys  will 
do  when  they  are  impatient,  and  Sweetest  Susan 
said  no  more. 

"  Once  upon  a  time/'  Mrs.  Meadows  began, 
rubbing  her  chin  thoughtfully,  "  there  was  a 
country  that  suddenly  found  itself  without  a  king. 
This  was  a  long  time  ago,  before  people  in  some 
parts  of  the  world  began  to  think  it  was  un 
fashionable  to  have  kings.  I  don't  know  what 
the  trouble  was  exactly,  whether  the  king  died, 
or  whether  he  was  carried  off,  or  whether  he  did 
something  to  cause  the  people  to  take  away  his 
crown  and  put  him  in  the  calaboose. 


HOW  A  KING   WAS  FOUND.  47 

"  Anyhow,  they  suddenly  found  themselves 
without  a  king,  and  it  made  them  feel  very  uncom 
fortable.  They  were  so  restless  and  uneasy  that 
they  could  n't  sleep  well  at  night.  They  were  in 
the  hahit  of  having  a  king  to  govern  them,  and 
they  felt  very  nervous  without  one. 

"  Now  in  that  country  there  were  eleven  wise 
men  whose  trade  it  was  to  <rive  advice.  Instead 

o 

of  falling  out  and  wrangling  with  one  another 
and  ruining  their  business,  these  eleven  wise  men 
had  formed  a  copartnership  and  set  up  a  sort 
of  store,  where  anybody  and  everybody  could  get 
advice  by  the  wholesale  or  retail.  I  don't  know 
whether  they  charged  anything,  because  there 
never  has  been  a  time  since  the  world  had  more 
than  two  people  in  it  that  advice  was  n't  as  cheap 
as  dirt. 

"  The  eleven  wise  men  were  there,  ready  to 
give  advice,  and  so  the  people  went  to  them  and 
asked  them  how  to  select  a  king1.  The  eleven 

o 

wise  men  put  their  heads  together,  and  after 
a  while  they  told  the  people  that  they  must  select 
nine  of  their  best  men  and  send  them  out  on  the 
roads  leading  to  the  capital  city,  and  when  these 
nine  men  found  a  man  sleeping  in  the  shade  of  a 


48  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

tree,  they  were  to  watch  him  for  four  hours,  and 
if  the  shadow  of  the  tree  stood  still  so  as  to  keep 
the  sun  from  shining  on  him,  he  was  the  one  to 
select  for  their  king.  Then  the  eleven  wise  men, 
looking  very  solemn,  bowed  the  people  out,  and 
the  people  went  off  and  selected  nine  of  their 
best  men  to  find  them  a  king. 

"  Now  it  happened  that  in  a  part  of  the  coun 
try  not  far  from  the  capital  city  there  lived  a  boy 
with  his  mother  and  stepfather.  They  were  not 
poor  and  they  were  not  rich,  but  everybody  said 
the  boy  was  the  handsomest  and  brightest  that 
had  ever  been  seen  in  that  section.  He  was  about 
sixteen  years  old,  and  was  very  strong  and  tall. 

"  One  day,  when  the  stepfather  was  in  the  vil 
lage  near  which  they  lived,  a  stranger  passed 
through  on  his  way  to  the  capital  city.  He  had 
neither  wallet  nor  staff,  but  he  drew  a  great  crowd 
of  idle  people  around  him.  He  was  carrying  a 
red  rooster,  and  although  the  fowl's  feet  were  tied 
together  and  his  head  hanging  down,  he  crowed 
lustily  every  few  minutes.  It  was  this  that  drew 
the  crowd  of  idle  people.  One  with  more  curi 
osity  than  the  rest  asked  the  stranger  why  the 
rooster  crowed  and  continued  to  crow. 


HOW  A  KING   WAS  FOUND.  49 

"  f  He  is  a  royal  bird/  the  stranger  replied. 
6  There  is  no  king  in  this  country,  and  whoever 
eats  this  bird's  head  will  reign  as  king.' 

"  '  He  must  be  worth  a  pretty  sum/  said  one. 

"  'By  no  means/  answered  the  stranger.  'He 
is  worth  no  more  than  a  silver  piece.' 

"  But  the  people  only  laughed.  They  thought 
the  stranger  was  making  fun  of  them.  He  went 
on  his  way,  and  had  soon  passed  beyond  the  vil 
lage.  Now  it  chanced  that  the  stepfather  of  the 
bright  and  handsome  boy  was  in  the  crowd  that 
gathered  around  the  stranger.  He  thought  it 
was  very  queer  that  a  rooster  should  be  crowing 
so  bravely  when  his  legs  were  tied  together  and 
while  his  head  was  hanging  down.  So  he  said  to 
himself  that  there  might  be  some  truth  in  what 
the  stranger  said.  He  ran  after  the  man  and  soon 
overtook  him. 

"  '  That  is  a  fine  fowl/  said  the  boy's  step 
father. 

"  '  It  is  a  royal  bird/  the  stranger  replied. 

"  '  What  is  he  worth  ? '  asked  the  boy's  step 
father. 

"  '  I  shall  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  him/  said  the 
stranger.  (  Give  me  a  piece  of  silver  and  take 
him.' 


50  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  This  was  soon  done,  and  the  stepfather  took 
the  rooster  under  his  arm. 

"  (  Remember  this/  remarked  the  stranger ;  '  if 
you  eat  the  head  of  that  bird  you  will  reign  in 
this  country  as  king.' 

"  '  Oh,  ho  ! '  laughed  the  boy's  stepfather,  '  you 
are  a  fine  joker.' 

"  With  the  fowl  under  his  arm  he  went  toward 
his  home.  He  had  gone  but  a  little  way  when  he 
turned  to  look  at  the  stranger,  but  the  man  had 
disappeared.  The  country  was  level  for  a  long 
distance  in  all  directions,  but  the  stranger  could 
not  be  seen. 

"  The  boy's  stepfather  carried  the  fowl  home 
and  said  to  his  wife :  — 

"  '  Cook  this  bird  for  supper.  Cook  the  head 
also.' 

"  The  man  was  afraid  to  tell  his  wife  why  he 
wanted  the  head  cooked.  He  knew  she  was  very 
fond  of  her  son,  and  he  reasoned  to  himself  that 
if  she  knew  what  the  stranger  had  said  she  would 
give  the  head  to  the  boy.  So  he  only  told  her  to 
be  careful  to  cook  the  fowl's  head  and  save  it  for 
him. 

"  The  wife  did  as  she  was  bid.     She  cooked  the 


HOW  A  KING   WAS  FOUND.  51 

fowl  and  the  fowl's  head,  and  placed  them  away 
in  the  cupboard  until  her  husband  and  her  son 
came  home.  It  happened  that  something  kept 
the  husband  in  the  village  a  little  later  than  usual, 
and  while  the  woman  was  waiting  for  him  her  son 
came  in  and  said  he  was  very  hungry. 

"  '  You  will  find  something  in  the  cupboard/ 
his  mother  said.  'Eat  a  little  now,  and  when 
your  stepfather  returns  we  will  have  supper.' 

"  The  boy  went  to  the  cupboard.  The  fowl 
was  on  a  big  dish  ready  to  be  carved,  and  the 
head  was  in  the  saucer  by  itself.  To  save  time 
and  trouble  the  boy  took  the  head  and  ate  it,  and 
then  felt  as  if  he  could  wait  for  supper  very  com 
fortably.  The  husband  came,  and  the  woman 
proceeded  to  set  the  table.  When  she  came  to 
look  for  the  fowl's  head  it  was  gone. 

O 

"  '  Why,  I  ate  it,'  said  her  son,  when  he  heard 
her  exclamation  of  surprise.  '  I  found  it  in  the 
saucer,  and  I  ate  it  rather  than  cut  the  fowl.' 

"  The  stepfather  was  angry  enough  to  tear  his 
hair,  but  he  said  nothing.  The  next  day  the  boy 
went  hunting.  He  was  ready  to  return  about 
noon,  but,  being  tired,  he  stretched  himself  in  the 
shade  of  a  tree  and  was  soon  sound  asleep. 


52  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  While  he  was  sleeping  his  soundest,  the  nine 
men  who  had  been  appointed  by  the  people  to 
find  them  a  king  chanced  to  pass  that  way.  They 
saw  the  handsome  boy  sleeping  in  the  shade  of 
the  tree,  and  they  stationed  themselves  around  and 
watched  him.  For  four  long  hours  they  watched 
the  boy,  but  still  the  shadow  of  the  tree  kept 
the  sun  from  his  face.  The  nine  men  consulted 
among  themselves,  and  they  came  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  the  shadow  of  the  tree  had  n't  moved, 
and  that  the  boy  was  a  well-favored  lad  who 
would  look  very  well  when  he  was  dressed  up  and 
put  on  a  throne  with  a  crown  on  his  head. 

"  So  they  shook  the  boy  and  aroused  him  from 
his  sleep. 

"  *  What  's  your  name  ? '  asked  the  spokesman. 

"  '  Telambus,'  replied  the  boy. 

"  i  Where  do  you  live  ?  ' 

"  '  Not  far  from  here.' 

"  *  How  would  you  like  to  be  king  ? ' 

"  '  I  have  never  tried  it.  Is  it  an  easy  trade  to 
learn?' 

"  The  nine  men  looked  at  each  other  shrewdly 
and  smiled.  They  each  had  the  same  thought. 

"  They  went  with  the  boy  to  his  home  and  saw 


HOW  A  KING   WAS  FOUND.  53 

his  mother,  and  inquired  about  his  age  and  his 
education,  and  asked  a  hundred  other  questions 
besides.  They  cautioned  the  woman  as  they  were 
leaving  to  say  nothing  of  their  visit  except  this, 
that  they  were  going  about  hunting  for  a  king 
and  had  called  to  make  some  inquiries. 

"  When  her  husband  came  home  he  had  already 
heard  of  the  visit  of  the  distinguished  company, 
and  so  he  asked  his  wife  a  thousand  questions. 
All  the  answer  he  got  was  that  the  visitors  were 
hunting  for  a  king. 

u  '  I  'm  sure  it  was  for  me  they  were  hunting/ 
said  the  man.  '  How  unfortunate  that  I  was 
away.' 

"  '  Well,  don't  worry,'  replied  his  wife.  '  If 
they  ever  intended  to  make  you  king,  they  '11  come 
back  after  you.' 

"  '  You  don't  seem  to  think  much  about  it/ 
remarked  the  man,  '  but  some  of  these  days 
you  '11  find  out  that  you  narrowly  escaped  being 
the  king's  wife.' 

"  The  nine  citizens  were  so  certain  that  they 
had  found  the  right  person  to  rule  over  their 
country  as  king,  that  they  made  haste  to  return 
to  the  capital  city  and  tell  the  news  to  the  eleven 


54  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

wise  men  who  had  sent  them  out.  They  made 
their  report,  and  the  eleven  wise  men  put  their 
heads  together  once  more.  When  they  had  eon- 
suited  together  a  long  time,  they  said  to  the  peo 
ple  :- 

"  '  There  is  one  test  by  which  you  may  know 
whether  a  king  has  been  found.  Send  a  messen 
ger  and  ask  this  young  man  to  send  us  a  rope 
made  of  sand  a  hundred  feet  long/ 

"  The  messenger  straightway  went  to  the 
house  of  Telambus  and  told  him  what  the  eleven 
wise  men  had  said.  His  mother  straightway  fell 
to  crying.  But  Telambus  laughed  at  her  fears. 

"  '  Tell  the  eleven  wise  men/  he  said  to  the 
messenger,  'that  there  are  various  patterns  of 
sand  ropes.  Let  them  send  me  a  sample  of  the 
kind  they  want  —  a  piece  only  a  foot  long  —  and 
I  will  make  them  one  a  hundred  feet  long.' 

"  The  messenger  returned  to  the  eleven  wise 
men  and  told  them  what  Telambus  had  said. 
They  put  their  heads  together  again  and  then  told 
the  people  that  the  young  man  was  wise  enough 
to  be  their  king.  There  was  great  rejoicing  then, 
and  the  nine  wise  men  who  had  found  him  went 
to  fetch  him. 


HOW  A   KING   WAS  FOUND.  55 

66  But  Telambus  shook  his  head.     '  Kings  are 

o 

not  carried  about  in  this  way.  Where  are  your 
banners  and  your  chariots?  Where  are  your 
drums  and  your  cymbals  ?  ' 

"  So  the  nine  men  returned  to  the  eleven  wise 
men  and  told  them  what  Telambus  had  said. 

"  *  He  is  right/  said  the  eleven  wise  men.  '  He 
is  a  king  already.  Get  your  horses,  your  char 
iots,  your  banners,  and  your  music,  and  bring  our 
king  in  as  he  deserves  to  be  brought.' 

£3  O 

"So  Telambus  was  made  the  king  of  that 
country." 

At  this  point  Mrs.  Meadows  began  to  hunt  for 
a  knitting-needle  she  had  dropped,  and  the  chil 
dren  knew  that  the  story  was  ended. 

"  That  was  a  pretty  good  story,"  said  Mr. 
Thimblefinger.  "  It  was  short  and  sweet,  as  the 
king-bird  said  to  the  honey-bee." 

"  Dey  wuz  too  much  kingin'  in  it  ter  suit  me. 
Ef  folks  got  ter  have  kings,  how  come  we  ain't 
got  none?"  asked  Drusilla. 

"  Please  tell  me  about  the  little  girl  with  the 
vial  of  sparkling  water  from  the  Well  at  the  End 
of  the  World,"  said  Sweetest  Susan  to  Mr.  Thim 
blefinger.  "  I  expect  she  is  nearly  grown  by  this 
time." 


56  ME.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"Ob,  yes/'  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "she 
has  now  grown  to  be  quite  a  young  lady." 

"  Huh  !  "  grunted  Drusilla,  "  ef  folks  grow  up 
dat  quick,  I  dunner  what  hinder  me  from  bein' 
a  oP  gray-head  'oman  by  sundown." 


VI. 

THE    MAGIC    RING. 

"  DON'T  you  see/'  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  with 
apparent  seriousness,  "  that  if  we  had  n't  left  off 
the  story  of  the  little  girl  who  went  to  the  Well 
at  the  End  of  the  World  just  where  we  did,  she 
would  have  had  no  time  to  grow  ?  " 

Buster  John  smiled  faintly,  but  Sweetest  Susan 
took  the  statement  seriously,  though  she  said 
nothing.  Drusilla  boldly  indorsed  it. 

"  I  speck  dat  's  so,"  she  said,  "  kaze  when  de 
lir  gal  got  back  home  wid  dat  vial  she  wa'n't  in 
no  fix  fer  ter  cut  up  dem  kind  er  capers  what  de 
tales  tell  about." 

"  Certainly  not,"  remarked  Mr.  Thimblefinger, 
"  but  now  she  has  had  time  to  grow  up  to  be  a 
young  lady,  almost.  Names  go  for  so  little  down 
here  that  I  have  n't  told  you  hers.  She  was 
named  Eolen.  Some  said  it  was  a  beautiful  name, 
but  her  stepmother  and  her  stepmother's  daugh 
ter  said  it  was  very  ugly.  Anyhow,  that  was  her 


58  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

name,  and  whether  it  was  ugly  or  whether  it  was 
beautiful,  she  had  to  make  the  best  of  it. 

"  Well,  Eolen  went  home  when  the  old  man 
gave  her  the  vial  of  water  from  the  Well  at  the 
End  of  the  World.  She  hid  the  vial  beneath  her 
apron  until  she  reached  her  own  room,  and  then 
she  placed  it  at  the  very  bottom  of  her  little  trunk, 
—  a  trunk  that  had  belonged  to  her  mother,  who 
was  dead. 

"  Nothing  happened  for  a  long  time.  When 
ever  Friday  fell  on  the  thirteenth  of  a  month, 
Eolen  would  rub  a  drop  of  the  sparkling  water 
on  her  forehead,  and  she  grew  to  be  the  loveliest 
young  lady  that  ever  was  seen.  Her  stepsister 
was  not  bad-looking,  but,  compared  with  Eolen, 
she  was  ugly.  The  contrast  between  them  was  so 
great  that  people  could  not  help  noticing  it  and 
making  remarks  about  it.  Some  of  these  remarks 
came  to  the  ears  of  her  stepmother. 

"  Now  a  stepmother  can  be  just  as  nice  and  as 
good  as  anybody,  but  this  particular  stepmother 
cared  for  nothing  except  her  own  child,  and  she 
soon  came  to  hate  Eolen  for  being  so  beautiful. 
She  had  never  treated  the  child  kindly,  but  now 
she  began  to  treat  her  cruelly.  Eolen  never  told 


THE  MAGIC  RING.  59 

her  father,  but  somehow  he  seemed  to  know  what 
was  going-  on,  and  he  treated  her  more  affection- 

O  c5  ' 

ately  each  day,  as  her  stepmother  grew  more 
cruel. 

"  This  lasted  for  some  time,  but  finally  Eolen's 
father  fell  ill  and  died,  and  then,  although  she 
had  many  admirers,  she  was  left  without  a  friend 
she  could  confide  in  or  rely  on.  To  make  mat 
ters  worse,  her  stepmother  produced  a  will  in 
which  her  husband  had  left  everything  to  her 
and  nothing  to  Eolen.  The  poor  girl  did  n't 
know  what  to  do.  She  knew  that  her  father  had 
made  no  such  will,  but  how  could  she  prove  it? 
She  happened  to  think  of  the  vial  of  sparkling 
waters.  She  found  it  and  turned  it  upside  down. 

"  On  the  instant  there  was  a  loud  knock  at  the 
street  door.  Eolen  would  have  gone  to  open  it, 
but  her  stepmother  was  there  before  her.  She 
peeped  from  behind  the  curtains  in  the  hallway, 
and  saw  a  tall,  richly-dressed  stranger  standing 
on  the  steps. 

"  '  I  wish  to  see  a  young  lady  who  lives  here. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  an  old  friend/  said  the 
stranger. 

"  The  stepmother  smiled  very  sweetly.  (  Come 
in.  I  will  call  her.' 


60  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  But  instead  of  calling  Eolen  she  called  her 
own  daughter.  The  girl  went,  but  not  with  a 
good  grace.  She  had  been  petted  and  spoiled, 
and  was  very  saucy  and  impolite.  The  stranger 
smiled  when  he  saw  her. 

"  '  What  was  my  mother  doing  when  you  saw 
her  sitting  by  the  Well  at  the  End  of  the  World  ?' 
he  asked. 

"  '  Do  you  take  me  for  a  crazy  person  ?  '  replied 
the  girl. 

"  '  By  no  means/  said  the  stranger.  '  You  are 
not  the  young  lady  I  came  to  see/ 

"  The  stepmother  then  called  Eolen  and  stood 
in  the  room  frowning  to  see  what  was  going  to 
happen.  Eolen  came  as  soon  as  she  was  called, 
and  the  stranger  seemed  to  be  much  struck  by  her 
beauty  and  modesty.  He  took  her  by  the  hand 
ancUled  her  to  a  chair. 

"  '  What  was  my  mother  doing  when  you  saw 
her  sitting  by  the  Well  at  the  End  of  the  World  ? ' 
he  asked. 

"  '  She  was  combing  her  hair/  replied  Eolen. 

"  c  That  is  true/  remarked  the  stranger.  '  Yes, 
she  was  combing  her  hair.'  Then  he  turned  to 
the  stepmother  and  said :  '  May  I  see  this  young 


THE  MAGIC  RING.  61 

lady  alone  for  a  little  while  ?  I  have  a  message 
for  her  from  an  old  friend.' 

"  <  Certainly  ! '  the  stepmother  answered.  <  I 
hope  her  friend  is  well-to-do,  for  her  father  has 
died  without  leaving  her  so  much  as  a  farthing.' 
Having  said  this,  the  stepmother  flounced  from 
the  room. 

66  'I  came  at  your  summons/  said  the  stranger; 
'  you  turned  the  vial  of  sparkling  water  upside 
down,  and  now  I  am  here  to  do  your  bidding.' 

"  Then  Eolen  told  him  of  the  death  of  her 
father,  and  how  he  had  left  all  of  his  property 
to  her  stepmother.  The  stranger  listened  atten 
tively,  and  while  he  listened  played  with  a  heavy 
gold  ring  that  he  wore  on  his  third  finger.  When 
Eolen  was  through  with  her  story  he  took  this 
ring  from  his  finger  and  handed  it  to  her. 

"  c  Look  through  that/  he  said,  '  and  tell  me 
what  you  see.' 

"  Eolen  held  the  ring  to  one  of  her  eyes,  and 
peeped  through  the  golden  circle.  She  was  so 
surprised  that  she  came  near  dropping  the  ring. 
She  had  held  it  up  toward  the  stranger,  but  in 
stead  of  seeing  him  through  the  ring  she  seemed 
to  be  looking  into  a  room  in  which  some  person 


62  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

was  moving  about.     As  she  continued  to  look,  the 

O  ^ 

scene  appeared  to  be  a  familiar  one.  The  room 
was  the  one  her  stepmother  occupied  —  the  room 
in  which  her  father  had  died.  She  saw  her  step 
mother  take  from  her  father's  private  drawer  a 
f  olcledfcpaper  and  hide  it  behind  the  mantel.  Then 
the  scene  vanished,  and  through  the  ring  she  saw 
the  stranger  smiling  at  her. 

"  '  What  you  have  seen  happened  some  time 
ago.'  He  took  the  ring  and  replaced  it  on  his 
finger.  '  Your  stepmother  is  now  coming  this 
way.  She  has  been  trying  to  hear  what  we  are 
saying.  When  she  comes  in,  do  you  get  your 
father's  real  will  from  behind  the  mantel  and 
bring  it  to  me.' 

"  Sure  enough  the  stepmother  came  into  the 
room  silently  and  suddenly.  She  pretended  to  be 
much  surprised  to  find  any  one  there. 

66 '  You  must  excuse  me/  she  said  to  the  stran 
ger.  'I  imagined  I  heard  you  take  your  leave 
some  time  ago.' 

" '  You  are  excusable/  replied  the  stranger. 
6 1  have  been  reflecting  rather  than  talking.  I 
have  been  thinking  what  could  be  done  for  your 
stepdaughter,  who  must  be  quite  a  burden  to 
you.' 


THE  MAGIC  RING.  63 

"  The  stepmother  took  this  for  an  invitation  to 
tell  what  she  knew  about  Eolen,  and  you  may  be 
sure  she  did  n't  waste  any  praise  on  the  young 
lady.  But  right  in  the  midst  of  it  all  Eolen,  who 
had  gone  out,  returned  and  handed  the  stranger 
the  folded  paper  that  had  been  hid  behind  the 
mantel.  The  stepmother  recognized  it  and  turned 
pale. 

"  6  This/  said  the  stranger,  opening  the  paper 
and  reading  it  at  a  glance,  '  is  your  father's  will. 
I  see  he  has  left  you  half  the  property.' 

"  '  That  is  the  will  my  husband  forgot  to  de 
stroy,'  cried  the  stepmother.  <I  have  the  real 
will.' 

"  '  May  I  see  it  ? '  asked  the  stranger. 

"  The  stepmother  ran  to  fetch  it,  but  when  the 
stranger  had  opened  it,  not  a  line  nor  a  word  of 
writing  could  be  found  on  it. 

" '  I  see  you  are  fond  of  a  joke,'  said  the 
stranger,  but  the  stepmother  had  fallen  into  a 
chair  and  sat  with  her  face  hid  in  her  hands.  '  I 
am  fond  of  a  joke  myself,'  continued  the  stranger, 
'  and  I  think  I  can  match  yours.' 

"  With  that  the  stranger  took  the  real  will, 
tore  it  in  small  pieces  and  threw  it  into  the  fire 
place. 


64  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  What  have  you  done  ? '  cried  Eolen. 

"  '  The  most  difficult  thing  in  the  world/  re 
plied  the  stranger ;  '  I  have  made  this  lady  happy.' 

"  And  sure  enough  the  stepmother  was  smiling 
and  thanking  him. 

c9 

"  '  I  thought  you  were  my  enemy/  she  said, 
i  but  now  I  see  you  are  my  friend  indeed.  How 
can  I  repay  you  ? ' 

"  '  By  treating  this  young  lady  here  as  your 
daughter/  he  replied.  '  Have  no  fear/  he  said, 
turning  to  Eolen.  '  No  harm  can  befall  you. 
What  I  have  done  is  for  the  best.' 

"  But  before  he  went  away  he  gave  Eolen  the 
gold  ring,  and  told  her  to  wear  it  for  the  sake  of 
his  mother,  who  sat  by  the  Well  at  the  End  of 
the  World.  She  thanked  him  for  his  kindness 
and  promised  she  would  keep  the  ring  and  trea 
sure  it  as  long1  as  she  lived. 

o 

"  But  there  was  one   trouble  with  this  magic 

o 

ring.  It  was  too  large  for  any  of  Eolen's  fingers. 
She  had  the  whitest  and  most  beautiful  hands 
ever  seen,  but  the  ring  would  fit  none  of  her 

7  O 

fingers.  Around  her  neck  she  wore  a  necklace 
of  coral  beads,  and  on  this  necklace  she  hung  the 

o 

ring. 


THE  MAGIC  RING.  65 

"  For  many  day's  Eolen's  stepmother  was  kind 
to  her,  almost  too  kind.  But  the  woman  was 
afraid  her  stepdaughter  would  inform  the  judges 
of  her  effort  to  steal  and  hide  her  husband's  will. 
The  judges  were  very  severe  in  those  days  and  in 
that  country,  and  if  the  woman  had  been  brought 
before  them  and  such  a  crime  proven  on  her,  she 
would  have  been  sent  to  the  rack." 

"  What  is  a  rack  ?  "  asked  Sweetest  Susan. 

"  Hit  's  de  place  whar  dey  scrunch  f olks's  ve'y 
vitals  out'n  'em,"  said  Drusilla  solemnly. 

66  That  's  about  right,  I  reckon,"  assented  Mr. 
Thimblefinger.  "  Well,  the  stepmother  was  as 
kind  to  Eolen  as  she  knew  how  to  be,  but  the 
kindness  did  n't  last  long.  She  hated  her  step 
daughter  worse  than  ever.  She  was  afraid  of 
her,  but  she  did  n't  hate  her  any  the  less  on  that 
account. 

"Eolen  had  a  habit  of  taking  off  her  coral 
necklace  and  placing  it  under  her  pillow  at  night. 
One  night,  when  she  was  fast  asleep,  her  step 
mother  crept  into  the  room  and  slipped  the  ring 
from  the  necklace.  She  had.  no  idea  it  was  a 
magic  ring.  She  said  to  herself  that  it  would 
look  better  on  her  daughter's  finger  than  it  did 


66  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

on  Eolen's  coral  necklace,  so  she  took  the  ring 
and  slipped  it  on  the  finger  of  her  sleeping  daugh 
ter,  and  then  stepped  back  a  little  to  admire  the 
big  golden  circle  on  the  coarse,  red  hand. 

"  Almost  immediately  the  daughter  began  to 
toss  and  tumble  in  her  sleep.  She  flung  her  arms 
wildly  about  and  tried  to  talk.  The  mother,  be 
coming  alarmed,  tried  to  wake  her,  but  it  was  some 
time  before  the  girl  could  be  roused  from  her 
troubled  sleep. 

"  6  Oh  ! '  she  cried,  when  she  awoke,  '  what  is 
the  matter  with  me  ?  I  dreamed  some  one  was 
cutting  my  finger  off.  What  was  it  ?  Oh !  it 
hurts  me  still ! ' 

"  She  held  up  the  finger  on  which  her  mother 
had  placed  the  ring  and  tried  to  tear  off  the 
golden  band.  f  It  burns  —  it  burns  ! '  she  cried. 
<  Take  it  off.' 

"  Her  mother  tried  to  take  the  ring  off,  but  it 
was  some  time  before  she  succeeded.  Her  daugh 
ter  struggled  and  cried  so  that  it  was  a  hard  mat 
ter  to  remove  the  ring,  which  seemed  to  be  as  hot 
as  fire.  A  red  blister  was  left  on  the  girl's  finger, 
and  she  was  in  great  pain. 

"  '  What  have  I  done  ? '  the  mother  cried,  see- 


HER  STEPMOTHER  CREPT  INTO  THE  ROOM 


THE  MAGIC  RING.  67 

her  daughter's  condition.     The  two  made  so 

O 

much  noise  that  Eolen  awoke  and  went  to  the 
door  to  find  out  what  the  trouble  was. 

"  '  Go  away,  you  hussy ! '  screamed  the  step 
mother  when  she  saw  Eolen  at  the  door.  '  Go 
away  !  You  are  a  witch  ! ' 

"  <  Why,  what  have  I  done  ? '  Eolen  asked. 

"  '  You  are  the  cause  of  all  this  trouble.  For 
amusement  I  placed  your  gold  ring  on  my  dear 
daughter's  finger,  and  now  see  her  condition  ! ' 

"  '  Why,  then,  did  you  take  my  ring  ?  If  you 
had  left  it  where  I  placed  it,  you  would  have  had 
none  of  this  trouble.'  Eolen  spoke  with  so  much 
dignity  that  her  stepmother  was  surprised  into 
silence,  though  she  could  talk  faster  and  louder 
than  a  flutter-mill.  But  finally  she  found  her 
voice. 

"  '  Go  away  !  You  are  a  witch  ! '  she  said  to 
Eolen. 

"  But  Eolen  went  boldly  into  the  room.  '  Give 
me  my  ring  ! '  she  exclaimed.  '  You  shall  wrong 
me  no  further.  Give  me  my  ring !  I  will  have 
it!' 

"  This  roused  the  stepmother's  temper.  She 
searched  on  the  floor  till  she  found  the  ring. 


68  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Then  she  opened  a  window  and  flung  it  as  far  as 
she  could  send  it. 

"  l  Now  let  's  see  you  get  it ! '  she  cried.  With 
that  she  seized  Eolen  by  the  arm  and  pushed  her 
from  the  room,  saying,  '  Go  away,  you  witch  ! ' 

"Now,  then,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  after 
pausing  to  take  breath,  "  what  was  the  poor  girl 
to  do  ? "  He  looked  at  Sweetest  Susan  as  if 
expecting  her  to  answer  the  question. 

"I  'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  replied  Sweetest 
Susan. 

"  Shake  up  de  bottle,"  exclaimed  Drusilla. 

"  Exactly  so,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger. 


VII. 

THE  COW  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS. 

"  I  HOPE  that  is  n't  all  of  the  story,  —  if  you 
call  it  a  story/'  said  Buster  John. 

"  Which  ?  "  remarked  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  with 
an  air  of  having  forgotten  the  whole  business. 

"  Why,  that  about  throwing  the  gold  ring  from 
the  window,"  replied  Buster  John. 

"  Well,  no,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  in  an  ab 
sent-minded  way.  "  In  a  book,  you  know,  you 
can  read  right  on  if  you  want  to,  or  you  can  put 
the  book  down  and  rest  yourself  when  you  get 
tired.  But  when  I  'm  telling  a  story,  you  must 
give  me  time  to  rest.  I  'm  so  little,  you  know, 
that  it  does  n't  take  much  to  tire  me.  Of  course, 
if  you  don't  like  the  story,  I  can  stop  any  time. 
It  's  no  trouble  at  all  to  stop.  Just  wink  your 
eye  at  me  twice,  and  I  'm  mum." 

"  Oh,  we  don't  want  you  to  stop,"  said  Sweetest 
Susan. 

"  No,  don't  stop,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit,  drow- 


70  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

sily,  "  because  then  everybody  gets  to  talking, 
and  I  can't  doze  comfortably.  Your  stories  are 
as  comforting  to  me  as  a  feather-bed." 

"Then  I  '11  add  a  bolster  to  the  bed,"  ex 
claimed  Mr.  Thimblefinger.  He  hesitated  a  mo 
ment,  and  then  went  on  with  the  story :  — 

"  Of  course,  Eolen  did  n't  know  what  to  do 
when  her  stepmother  threw  the  gold  ring  from 
the  window  and  pushed  her  from  the  room.  She 
went  back  to  her  bed  and  lay  down,  but  she 
could  n't  sleep.  After  a  while  daylight  came, 
and  then  she  dressed  herself  and  went  down  into 
the  garden  to  hunt  for  the  ring.  She  searched 
everywhere,  but  the  ring  was  not  to  be  found. 

"  Now  the  ring  could  have  been  found  very 
easily  if  it  had  been  where  it  fell  when  Eolen 's 
stepmother  threw  it  from  the  window.  But  that 
night  a  tame  crow,  belonging  to  the  Prince  of 
that  country,  was  roosting  in  one  of  the  trees  in 
the  garden." 

"  Oh,  was  it  a  sure  enough  Prince  ? "  asked 
Sweetest  Susan. 

"  Why,  certainly,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger, 
with  great  solemnity.  "  A  make-believe  Prince 
could  never  have  reigned  in  that  country.  The 


THE  COW  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS.       71 

people  would  have  found  him  out,  and  he  would 
have  been  put  in  the  calaboose.  Well,  this  tame 
crow  that  belonged  to  the  Prince  had  wandered 
off  over  the  fields,  and  had  gone  so  far  away  from 
the  palace  that  it  was  unable  to  get  back  before 
dark,  and  so  it  went  to  bed  in  one  of  the  trees 
growing  in  the  garden  behind  the  house  where 
Eolen  lived. 

"  Of  course,  as  soon  as  morning  came,  the  crow 
was  wide  awake  and  ready  for  any  mischief  that 
might  turn  up.  It  flew  to  the  ground,  hoping  to 
find  something  for  breakfast,  and  hopped  about, 
searching  in  the  leaves  and  grass.  Suddenly  the 
crow  saw  the  ring  shining  on  the  ground  and 
picked  it  up  and  turned  it  over.  What  could  it 
be  ?  The  crow's  curiosity  was  such  that  it  forgot 
all  about  breakfast.  It  seized  the  ring  in  its  beak 

o 

and  went  flopping  to  the  palace.  It  was  so  early 
in  the  morning  that  the  palace  was  closed,  but  the 
crow  flew  straight  to  the  Prince's  window  and  beat 
his  wings  against  it  until  some  of  the  attendants 
came  and  opened  it,  when  the  crow  walked  in 
with  great  dignity. 

"  The  Prince  had  been  awakened  by  the  noise, 
but  when  he  saw  the  bird  stalking  into  the  room 


72  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

as  stiff  as  a  major-general  of  militia,  he  fell  back 
on  his  bed  laughing.  The  crow  hopped  to  the 
foot-board  of  the  bed  and  stood  there  holding  the 
gold  ring  in  his  beak,  as  much  as  to  say,  '  Don't 
you  wish  you  were  as  rich  as  I  am  ? ' 

"  The  Prince  rose  from  his  bed  and  took  the 
ring  from  the  crow,  but  it  was  so  hot  that  he 
made  haste  to  drop  it  in  a  basin  of  cold  water. 
Then  a  curious  thing  happened.  The  ring  seemed 
to  expand  in  the  basin  until  it  was  as  large  as  the 
bottom,  and  within  the  circle  it  made  the  picture 
of  a  beautiful  girl  standing  by  a  milk-white  cow. 
There  were  two  peculiarities  about  the  milk-white 
cow.  Her  ears  were  as  black  as  jet,  and  her  horns 
shone  and  glittered  as  if  they  were  made  of  gold. 

"  The  Prince  was  entranced.  He  gazed  at  the 
beautiful  picture  long  and  lovingly,  and  the  crow 
sat  on  the  rim  of  the  basin  and  chuckled  as 
proudly  as  if  it  had  painted  the  picture.  The 
girl  was  the  loveliest  the  Prince  had  ever  seen,  and 
the  cow  was  surely  the  most  beautiful  of  her  kind. 
The  Prince's  attendants  uttered  exclamations  of 
delight  when  they  saw  the  picture,  and  his  minis 
ters,  when  they  were  sent  for,  were  struck  dumb 
with  astonishment. 


THE  COW  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS.       73 

"  (  If  this  bird  could  only  speak ! '  cried  the 
Prince. 

"  But  the  crow  went  chuckling  about  the  room 
saying  to  itself,  '  What  a  fool  a  Prince  must  be 
who  cannot  understand  my  simple  language  ! ' 

"  The  Prince  gazed  at  the  picture  framed  by 
the  gold  ring  for  a  long  time.  At  last  he  con 
cluded  to  take  it  from  the  water.  As  he  did  so 
it  shrunk  to  its  natural  size,  and  the  picture  of 
the  beautiful  girl  and  the  Cow  with  the  Golden 
Horns  disappeared,  and  the  ring  no  longer  burnt 
his  fingers.  He  dropped  it  in  the  basin  once 
more,  but  it  remained  a  simple  gold  ring  and  the 
picture  failed  to  appear  again. 

"  The  Prince  was  disconsolate.  He  remained 
in  the  palace  and  refused  to  go  out.  He  moped 
and  pined,  until  the  family  doctor  was  called  in. 
The  doctor  fussed  about  and  felt  of  the  Prince's 
pulse  and  looked  at  his  tongue,  and  said  that  a 
change  of  air  was  necessary ;  but  the  Prince  said 
he  did  n't  want  any  change  of  air  and  would  n't 
have  it.  In  fact,  he  said  he  did  n't  want  any  air 
at  all,  and  he  would  n't  take  any  pills  or  powders, 
and  he  would  n't  drink  any  sage  tea,  and  he 
would  n't  have  any  mustard  plaster  put  on  him. 


74  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

He  was  in  love,  and  lie  knew  that  the  more  medi 
cine  he  took,  the  worse  off  he  would  be." 

"  Well,  a  little  sage  tea  ain't  bad  when  you  are 
in  love,"  remarked  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  It 's  mighty 
soothing." 

"Maybe,"  continued  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "but 
the  Prince  did  n't  want  it,  and  would  n't  have  it. 
He  wanted  the  beautiful  girl  he  had  seen  in  the 
picture.  He  was  in  love  with  her,  and  he  wanted 
to  marry  her.  So  his  ministers  consulted  together 
and  finally  they  sent  around  a  bailiff  "  — 

"  Nonsense  !  "  cried  Mrs.  Meadows. 

"  Tut  —  tut !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Eabbit. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "he  sent  a 
crier  around  "  — 

"  A  herald,  you  mean,"  suggested  Buster  John, 
who  had  read  a  good  many  story  books. 

"  A  bailiff  could  do  the  work  just  as  well,  but 
you  can  have  it  your  way.  Well,"  continued  Mr. 
Thimblefinger,  "  the  Prince's  ministers  sent  a  her 
ald  around  to  inquire  at  all  the  people's  houses  if 
any  of  them  had  a  Cow  with  Golden  Horns,  but 
nobody  had  such  a  cow,  and  everybody  wondered 
what  the  herald  meant.  A  Cow  with  Golden 
Horns!  People  went  about  asking  one  another 


THE  COW  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS.      75 

if  they  had  ever  heard  of  such  a  thing  before. 
Some  said  the  throne  was  tottering.  Others  said 
the  politicians  were  trying  to  work  a  scheme  to 
increase  taxation.  Still  others  talked  about  the 
peril  of  the  nation.  Everybody  had  some  expla 
nation,  but  nobody  had  the  right  one.  The  poor 
young  Prince  was  nearly  crazy  to  find  the  young 
girl  whose  picture  he  had  seen  in  the  basin  of 
water. 

66  For  a  few  days  the  people  heard  no  more  of 
the  matter,  but  at  the  end  of  a  week  the  herald 
went  round  the  city  again  declaring  that  the 
Prince  would  marry  any  young  lady  who  would 
bring  as  her  marriage  portion  a  Cow  with  Golden 
Horns.  She  need  not  have  riches  of  any  kind ; 
all  that  was  necessary  was  a  Cow  with  Golden 
Horns.  This  word  went  around  among  the  peo 
ple  and  from  city  to  city.  Rich  men  with  daugh 
ters  tried  everywhere  to  buy  a  Cow  with  Golden 
Horns,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 

"  The  Prince  waited  and  waited  and  pined  and 
grew  thinner.  But  just  as  matters  were  getting 
to  be  very  serious  indeed,  an  old  man  appeared 
in  the  palace  park  leading  a  beautiful  white  cow 
with  jet  black  ears  and  golden  horns.  The  ser- 


76  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

vants  set  up  such  a  shout  when  they  saw  the  beau 
tiful  cow  that  everybody  in  the  palace  was  aroused 
and  all  came  out  to  see  what  caused  the  noise. 
Then  the  servants  and  attendants  ran  over  one 
another  in  their  efforts  to  reach  the  Prince,  who 
was  moping  in  his  room.  As  they  ran  they 
cried :  — 

"  '  The  Cow  with  the  Golden  Horns  has  come ! 
The  Cow  with  the  Golden  Horns  has  come  ! ' 

"  The  Prince  forgot  his  dignity  and  hurried  out 
to  see  the  Cow  with  the  Golden  Horns.  The  old 
man  came  leading  her,  and  she  was,  indeed,  a 
beautiful  creature.  Her  head  and  limbs  were  al 
most  as  delicate  as  those  of  a  deer,  and  her  eyes 
were  large  and  soft.  Her  body  was  as  white  as 
snow,  her  ears  glistened  like  black  silk,  and  her 
golden  horns  shone  in  the  sun.  The  old  man 
bowed  low  as  he  led  the  beautiful  cow  forward. 

"  '  I  would  n't  make  much  of  a  bride  myself, 
your  Majesty,'  he  said.  'I  have  brought  you  the 
Cow  with  the  Golden  Horns.  She  might  find  you 
the  bride  that  I  failed  to  bring  you.' 

"  '  I  fear  I  shall  have  no  such  good  fortune,' 
replied  the  Prince.  '  But  I  think  you  have  proved 
to  me  that  I  am  not  dreaming.  How  shall  I 
reward  you  ? ' 


THE  COW  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS.       77 

"  '  I  ask  no  reward,  your  Majesty.  I  only  ask 
the  privilege  of  taking  away  my  Cow  with  the 
Golden  Horns  when  you  have  found  your  bride.' 

"  When  the  Prince  had  given  his  promise,  the 
old  man  said,  (  You  have  a  ring,  your  Majesty, 
that  came  to  you  in  a  curious  way.  Let  this  ring 
be  placed  on  the  left  horn  of  the  cow.  The  girl 
or  woman  that  is  able  to  remove  this  ring  will  be 
the  bride  you  are  wishing  for.  Every  morning 
the  Cow  with  the  Golden  Horns  will  appear  here 
in  the  lawn  and  remain  until  night  falls.  Let 
it  be  announced,  your  Majesty,  that  whoever 
takes  the  ring  from  her  shall  be  the  Princess  of 
the  Realm.'" 

"  Huh  !  "  exclaimed  Drusilla  suddenly.  "  He 
talk  like  he  been  ter  college." 

"Will  you  hush?"  cried  Buster  John.  But 
Mr.  Thimblefinger  paid  no  attention  to  the  inter 
ruption. 

"  '  But  how  do  you  know,'  asked  the  Prince, 
'  that  the  right  one  will  come  to  get  the  ring  ?  ' 

"  '  How  do  I  know  that  your  Majesty  has  the 
ring  ? '  the  old  man  answered. 

"  This  seemed  to  satisfy  the  Prince,  who  caused 
it  to  be  announced  all  through  his  kingdom  that 


78  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

he  would  choose  for  his  bride  the  girl  or  woman 
who  would  take  the  ring  from  the  golden  horn  of 
the  Cow. 

"  Of  course  there  was  a  great  commotion  among 
the  ladies  when  this  announcement  was  made,  and 
nearly  all  of  them  tried  to  take  the  ring  from  the 
golden  horn  of  the  Cow.  Some  said  they  tried  it 
just  for  fun,  and  some  said  they  tried  it  just  out 
of  curiosity  ;  but  all  of  them  failed.  Even  Eolen's 
stepmother  tried,  and  then  she  made  her  daughter 
try,  but  when  the  daughter  touched  the  ring  it 
burnt  her  so  that  she  screamed.  And  then  some 
of  those  who  had  tried  and  failed  turned  up  their 
noses  and  said  it  was  a  trick. 

66  Eolen  had  never  thought  of  trying.  She  had 
seen  the  Prince  and  admired  him,  yet  she  had  no 
idea  of  going  up  before  all  these  people.  But  as 
soon  as  her  stepmother  started  for  the  palace  with 
her  daughter,  there  came  a  knock  at  the  door. 
Eolen  opened  it,  and  there,  standing  before  her, 
was  the  old  man  who  had  carried  her  to  the 
Thunder's  house,  and  to  the  Jumping-Off  Place. 
She  was  very  glad  to  see  him,  and  told  him  so, 
and  he  was  just  as  glad  to  see  her. 

"  '  Why  don't  you  go  and  get  your  ring  ? '  he 
asked. 


THE  COW   WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS.      79 

"  '  It  is  lost/  she  answered. 

"  '  It  is  found/  he  said.  '  I  have  placed  it  on 
the  golden  horn  of  the  Cow  that  stands  near  the 
palace  door.  You  must  go  and  get  it.' 

"  '  I  have  nothing  to  wear/  she  replied. 

"  Then  the  old  man  tapped  on  the  wall  and 
called :  — 

"  (  Sister  Jane  !  Sister  Jane  !  Where  are 
you?' 

"  c  I  am  where  I  ought  to  be/  was  the  reply. 
The  wall  opened  and  out  stepped  the  old,  old 
woman  that  Eolen  had  seen  combing  her  hair  by 
the  Well  at  the  End  of  the  World. 

"  '  Clothe  this  child  in  silk  and  satin  and  comb 
her  hair  out  fine,  Sister  Jane.' 

"  The  old  woman  grumbled  a  little,  but  gave 
Eolen  a  touch  here  and  there,  and  in  a  moment 
she  was  dressed  as  fine  as  the  finest  lady  in  the 
land. 

"  '  Now  she  is  ready,  brother/  said  the  old,  old 
woman,  and  then  she  disappeared  in  the  wall, 
combing  her  long  gray  hair  and  smiling. 

"  '  Must  I  walk  ? '  asked  Eolen,  looking  at  her 
satin  slippers. 

"  <  Nonsense  ! '  exclaimed  the  old  man.     Then 


80  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

he  tapped  in  another  part  of  the  wall.  (  Nephew ! 
Nephew !  Where  are  you  ? ' 

"  '  Wherever  you  wish  me  to  be,'  a  voice  re 
plied,  and  then  the  wall  opened,  and  out  stepped 
the  handsome  stranger  who  had  given  Eolen  the 
gold  ring.  '  What  do  you  want  ? ' 

"  '  A  carriage  and  horses/  said  the  old  man. 

"  '  They  are  at  the  door/  was  the  reply,  '  and 
I  '11  drive  them  myself.' 

"  Sure  enough,  there  stood  at  the  door  a  coach 
and  four,  and  Eolen  was  carried  to  the  palace 
in  grand  style.  Liveried  servants  appeared  and 
spread  a  strip  of  carpet  before  her,  and  the  Cow 
with  the  Golden  Horns  came  running  to  meet  her, 
and  in  a  moment  she  had  the  ring.  Then  the 
people  set  up  a  loud  shout,  crying :  — 

"  '  The  Princess  !  the  Princess  ! ' 

"  And  then  the  Prince  came  out  and  went  to 
her.  She  would  have  knelt,  but  he  lifted  her  up 
and  knelt  himself  before  her,  and  kissed  her  hand, 
and  smiled  on  her,  for  she  was  the  lovely  girl  he 
had  seen  in  the  picture." 

"What  is  the  moral  of  that?"  inquired  Mr. 
Rabbit,  waking  from  his  nap. 

"  Why,  you  did  n't  even  hear  the  story,"  said 
Mr.  Thimblefinger. 


/A^W^ 
c^F" 

SHE   WOULD    HAVE    KNELT,    BUT    HE    LIFTED    HER   UP 


THE  COW  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  HORNS.      81 

"  That  is  the  reason  I  want  to  hear  the  moral 
of  it,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit. 

"  There  is  no  moral  at  all/'  said  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger. 

"  Then  I  'm  mighty  glad  I  was  asleep,"  grum 
bled  Mr.  Eabbit. 


VIII. 

BROTHER    WOLF'S    TWO    BIG    DINNERS. 

THE  children  said  they  were  very  much  pleased 
with  the  story  about  the  Cow  with  the  Golden 
Horns.  Buster  John  even  went  so  far  as  to  say 
that  it  was  as  good  as  some  of  the  stories  in  the 
books.  But  Mr.  Thimblefinger  shook  his  head. 
He  said  he  was  very  glad  they  were  pleased  with 
it,  but  he  knew  Mr.  Rabbit  was  right.  The  story 
could  n't  be  a  very  good  story,  because  it  had  no 
moral. 

"  But  I  think  it  had  a  very  good  moral,"  re 
marked  Mrs.  Meadows. 

"What  was  it?"  inquired  Mr.  Rabbit  with 
great  solemnity. 

"  Why,  if  the  little  girl  had  been  too  stingy  to 
give  the  old  beggar  a  piece  of  her  cake,  she  would 
never  have  come  to  be  Princess,"  replied  Mrs. 
Meadows. 

"Did  she  give  the  beggar  a  piece  of  cake?" 
asked  Mr.  Rabbit. 


BROTHER    WOLF'S   TWO  BIG  DINNERS.        83 

"  Why,  certainly  she  did,"  Mr.  Thimblefinger 
answered. 

"  Well/'  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit,  setting  himself 
back  in  his  chair,  "  I  must  have  been  fast  asleep 
when  she  did  it.  But  the  place  for  a  moral,  as 
I  've  been  told,  is  right  at  the  end  of  a  story,  and 
not  at  the  beginning." 

"  Can't  you  tell  us  a  story  with  a  moral  ?  "  sug 
gested  Mrs.  Meadows. 

"  I  can,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  I  can  for  a 
fact,  and  the  piece  of  cake  you  mentioned  puts 
me  in  mind  of  it." 

Mr.  Rabbit  closed  his  eyes  and  rubbed  his  nose, 
and  then  began  :  — 

"  Once  upon  a  time,  when  Brother  Fox  and 
myself  were  living  on  pretty  good  terms  with  each 
other,  we  received  an  invitation  to  attend  a  barbe 
cue  that  Brother  Wolf  was  going  to  give  on  the 
following  Saturday.  The  next  day  we  received 
an  invitation  to  a  barbecue  that  Brother  Bear  was 
going  to  give  on  the  same  Saturday. 

"  I  made  up  my  mind  at  once  to  go  to  Brother 
Bear's  barbecue,  because  I  knew  he  would  have 
fresh  roasting  ears,  and  if  there 's  anything  I 
like  better  than  another,  it  is  fresh  roasting  ears. 


84  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

I  asked  Brother  Fox  whether  he  was  going  to 
Brother  Bear's  barbecue  or  to  Brother  Wolf's, 
but  he  shook  his  head.  He  said  he  had  n't 
made  up  his  mind.  I  just  asked  him  out  of  idle 
curiosity,  for  I  did  n't  care  whether  he  went  or 
whether  he  stayed. 

"  I  went  about  my  work  as  usual.  Cold  weather 
was  coming  on,  and  I  wanted  to  get  my  crops  in 
before  the  big  freeze  came.  But  I  noticed  that 
Brother  Fox  was  mighty  restless  in  his  mind.  He 
did  n't  do  a  stroke  of  work.  He  'd  sit  down  and 
then  he  'd.get  up;  he  'd  stand  still  and  look  up 
in  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  then  he  'd  walk  back 
and  forth  with  his  hands  behind  him  and  look 
down  at  the  ground. 

"  I  says  to  him,  says  I,  '  I  hope  you  are  not 
sick,  Brother  Fox.' 

66  Says  he,  (  Oh,  no,  Brother  Rabbit ;  I  never 
felt  better  in  my  life.' 

"  I  says  to  him,  says  I,  '  I  hope  money  matters 
are  not  troubling  you.' 

"  Says  he,  '  Oh,  no,  Brother  Rabbit,  money  was 
never  easier  with  me  than  it  is  this  season.' 

"  I  says  to  him,  says  I,  'I  hope  I  '11  have  the 
pleasure  of  your  company  to  the  barbecue  to-mor 
row.' 


BROTHER    WOLF'S   TWO  BIG  DINNERS.       85 

"  Says  he,  <  I  can't  tell,  Brother  Rabbit ;  I  can't 
tell.  I  have  n't  made  up  my  mind.  I  may  go  to 
the  one,  or  I  may  go  to  the  other ;  but  which 
it  will  be,  I  can't  tell  you  to  save  my  life.' 

"  As  the  next  day  was  Saturday,  I  was  up 
bright  and  early.  I  dug  my  goobers  and  spread 
'em  out  to  dry  in  the  sun,  and  then,  ten  o'clock, 
as  near  as  I  could  judge,  I  started  out  to  the  bar 
becue.  Brother  Wolf  lived  near  the  river,  and 
Brother  Bear  lived  right  on  the  river,  a  mile  or 
two  below  Brother  Wolf's.  The  big  road,  that 
passed  near  where  Brother  Fox  and  I  lived,  led  in 
the  direction  of  the  river  for  about  three  miles, 
and  then  it  forked,  one  prong  going  to  Brother 
Wolf's  house,  and  the  other  prong  going  to  Bro 
ther  Bear's  house. 

"  Well,  when  I  came  to  the  forks  of  the  road, 
who  should  I  see  there  but  old  Brother  Fox.  I 
stopped  before  he  saw  me,  and  watched  him.  He 
went  a  little  way  down  one  road,  and  licked  his 
chops ;  then  he  came  back  and  went  a  little  way 
down  the  other  road,  and  licked  his  chops. 

u  Not  choosing  to  be  late,  I  showed  myself  and 
passed  the  time  of  day  with  Brother  Fox.  I  said, 
says  I,  that  if  he  was  going  to  Brother  Bear's  bar- 


86  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

becue,  I  'tl  be  glad  to  have  his  company.  But  he 
said,  says  he,  that  he  would  n't  keep  me  waiting. 
He  had  just  come  down  to  the  forks  of  the  road 
to  see  if  that  would  help  him  to  make  up  his  mind. 
I  told  him  I  was  mighty  sorry  to  miss  his  com 
pany  and  his  conversation,  and  then  I  tipped  my 
hat  and  took  my  cane  from  under  my  arm  and 
went  down  the  road  that  led  to  Brother  Bear's 
house." 

Here  Mr.  Rabbit  paused,  straightened  himself 
up  a  little,  and  looked  at  the  children.  Then  he 
continued :  — 

"  I  reckon  you  all  never  stood  on  the  top  of  a 
hill  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  smoking  pits 
and  got  a  whiff  or  two  of  the  barbecue  ?  " 

"  I  is  !  I  is !  "  exclaimed  Drusilla.  "  Don't  talk  ! 
Hit  make  me  dribble  at  de  niouf.  I  wish  I  had 
some  right  now." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Rabbit,  "I  got  a  whiff  of  it 
and  I  was  truly  glad  I  had  come  —  truly  glad.  It 
was  a  fine  barbecue,  too.  There  was  lamb,  and 
kid,  and  shote,  all  cooked  to  a  turn  and  well  sea 
soned,  and  then  there  was  the  hash  made  out  of 
the  giblets.  I  '11  not  tell  you  any  more  about  the 
dinner,  except  that  I  'd  like  to  have  one  like  it 


HE  WENT  A   LITTLE   WAY  DOWN   ONE   ROAD 


BROTHER    WOLF'S   TWO  BIG  DINNERS.       87 

every  Saturday  in  the  year.  If  I  happened  to  be 
too  sick  to  eat  it,  I  could  sit  up  and  look  at  it. 
Anyhow,  we  all  had  enough  and  to  spare. 

"  After  we  had  finished  with  the  barbecue  and 
were  sitting  in  Brother  Bear's  front  porch  smok 
ing  our  pipes  and  talking  politics,  I  happened  to 
mention  to  Brother  Bear  something  about  Brother 
Wolf's  barbecue.  I  said,  says  I,  that  I  thought 
I  'd  go  by  Brother  Wolf's  house  as  I  went  on 
home,  though  it  was  a  right  smart  step  out  of  the 
way,  just  to  see  how  the  land  lay. 

"  Says  Brother  Bear,  says  he  :  ( If  you  '11  wait 
till  my  company  take  their  leave,  I  don't  mind 
trotting  over  to  Brother  Wolf's  with  you.  The 
walk  will  help  to  settle  my  dinner.' 

"  So,  about  two  hours  by  sun,  we  started  out 
and  went  to  Brother  Wolf's  house.  Brother  Bear 
knew  a  short  cut  through  the  big  canebrake,  and 
it  did  n't  take  us  more  than  half  an  hour  to  get 
there.  Brother  Wolf  was  just  telling  his  com 
pany  good-by;  and  when  they  had  all  gone  he 
would  have  us  go  in  and  taste  his  mutton  stew, 
and  then  he  declared  he  'd  think  right  hard  of  us 
if  we  did  n't  drink  a  mug  or  two  of  his  persimmon 
beer. 


88  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  I  said,  says  I,  '  Brother  Wolf,  have  you  seen 
Brother  Fox  to-day  ? ' 

"  Brother  Wolf  said,  says  he,  '  I  declare,  I 
have  n't  seen  hair  nor  hide  of  Brother  Fox.  1 
don't  see  why  he  did  n't  come.  He 's  always 
keen  to  go  where  there  's  fresh  meat  a-frying.' 

"  I  said,  says  I,  '  The  reason  I  asked  was  be 
cause  I  left  Brother  Fox  at  the  forks  of  the  road 
trying  to  make  up  his  mind  whether  he  'd  eat  at 
your  house  or  at  Brother  Bear's.' 

"  '  Well,  I  'm  mighty  sorry,'  says  Brother  Wolf, 
says  he  ;  '  Brother  Fox  never  missed  a  finer  chance 
to  pick  a  bone  than  he  's  had  to-day.  Please  tell 
him  so  for  me.' 

"  I  said  I  would,  and  then  I  told  Brother  Wolf 
and  Brother  Bear  good-by  and  set  out  for  home. 
Brother  Wolf's  persimmon  beer  had  a  little  age 
on  it,  and  it  made  me  light-headed  and  nimble- 
footed.  I  went  in  a  gallop,  as  you  may  say,  and 
came  to  the  forks  of  the  road  before  the  sun  went 
down. 

"  You  may  not  believe  it,  but  when  I  got  there 
Brother  Fox  was  there  going  through  the  same 
motions  that  made  me  laugh  in  the  morning  — 
running  down  one  road  and  licking  his  chops, 


BROTHER    WOLF'S   TWO  BIG  DINNERS.       89 

and  then  running  down  the  other  and  licking  his 
chops. 

"  Says  I,  '  I  hope  you  had  a  good  dinner  at 
Brother  Wolf's  to-day,  Brother  Fox.' 

"  Says  he,  '  I  've  had  no  dinner.' 

"  Says  I,  '  That 's  mighty  funny.  Brother  Bear 
had  a  famous  barbecue,  and  I  thought  Brother 
Wolf  was  going  to  have  one,  too.' 

"  Says  Brother  Fox,  ( Is  dinner  over  ?  Is  it 
too  late  to  go  ?  ' 

"  Says  I,  (  Why,  Brother  Fox,  the  sun  's  nearly 
down.  By  the  time  you  get  to  Brother  Bear's 
house,  he  '11  be  gone  to  bed ;  and  by  the  time  you 
go  across  the  swamp  to  Brother  Wolf's  house,  the 
chickens  will  be  crowing  for  day/ 

"  '  Well,  well,  well !  '  says  Brother  Fox,  <  I  've 
been  all  day  trying  to  make  up  my  mind  which 
road  I  'd  take,  and  now  it  's  too  late.' 

"  And  that  was  the  fact,"  continued  Mr.  Rab 
bit.  "  The  poor  creature  had  been  all  day  trying 
to  make  up  his  mind  which  road  he  'd  take.  Now, 
then,  what  is  the  moral  ?  " 

Sweetest  Susan  looked  at  Mrs.  Meadows,  but 
Mrs.  Meadows  merely  smiled.  Buster  John  rat 
tled  the  marbles  in  his  pocket. 


90  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  I  know,"  said  Drusilla. 

"What?"  inquired  Mr.  Rabbit. 

"  Go  down  one  road  an'  git  one  dinner,  den  cut 
'cross  an'  git  some  mo'  dinner,  an'  den  go  back 
home  down  de  yuther  road/' 

Mr.  Rabbit  shook  his  head. 

"  Tar  Baby,  you  are  wrong,"  he  said. 

"  If  you  want  anything,  go  and  get  it,"  sug 
gested  Buster  John. 

Mr.  Rabbit  shook  his  head  and  looked  at  Sweet 
est  Susan,  whereupon  she  said  :  - 

"  If  you  can't  make  up  your  mind,  you  '11  have 
to  go  hungry." 

Mr.  Rabbit  shook  his  head. 

"  Eat  a  good  breakfast,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows, 
"  and  you  won't  be  worried  about  your  dinner." 

"  All  wrong !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Rabbit,  with  a 
chuckle.  "  The  moral  is  this :  He  who  wants 
too  much  is  more  than  likely  to  get  nothing." 

"  Well,"  remarked  Mrs.  Meadows  dubiously, 
"  if  you  have  to  work  out  a  moral  as  if  it  was  a 
sum  in  arithmetic,  I  '11  thank  you  not  to  trouble 
me  with  any  more  morals." 

"  The  motion  is  seconded  and  carried,"  ex 
claimed  Mr.  Thimblefinger. 


IX. 

THE    LITTLE    BOY    OF    THE    LANTERN. 

"  OF  course,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "  all  of 
you  can  tell  better  stories  than  I  can,  because  you 
are  larger.  Being  taller,  you  can  see  farther  and 
talk  louder;  but  I  sometimes  think  that  if  I  was 
to  climb  a  tree,  I  'd  see  as  far  as  any  of  you." 

"  Well,  I  hope  your  feelings  are  not  hurt,"  re 
marked  Mr.  Rabbit  sympathetically.  "  It  's  not 
the  fault  of  your  stories  that  I  fall  asleep  when 
you  are  telling  them.  It  's  my  habit  to  sit  and 
nod  at  certain  hours  of  the  day,  and  if  you  '11 
watch  me  right  close,  you  '11  see  that  I  sometimes 
drop  off  when  I  'm  telling  a  story  myself.  I  '11 
try  and  keep  awake  the  next  time  you  tell  one." 

"  I  'in  afraid  I  '11  have  to  prop  Mr.  Rabbit's 
eyelids  open  with  straws,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows, 
laughing. 

"  I  '11  just  try  you  with  a  little  one,"  Mr.  Thim- 
blefinger  declared.  "  I  '11  tell  you  one  I  heard 
when  I  was  younger.  I  want  to  see  whether 


92  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Mr.  Rabbit  will  keep  awake,  and  I  want  to  see 
whether  there  's  a  moral  in  the  tale." 

So  he  took  off  his  little  hat,  which  was  shaped 
like  a  thimble,  and  run  his  hand  over  the  feather 
ornament  to  straighten  it  out.  Then  he  be 
gan  :— 

"  A  long  time  ago,  when  there  was  a  great  deal 
more  room  in  the  country  next  door  than  there  is 
now,  there  lived  a  man  who  had  a  wife,  one  son, 
a  horse,  a  cow,  arid  a  calf.  He  was  a  hard-work 
ing  man,  so  much  so  that  he  had  little  or  no  time 
to  devote  to  his  family.  He  worked  hard  in  the 
field  all  day,  and  when  night  came  he  was  too 
tired  to  trouble  much  about  his  son.  His  wife, 
too,  having  no  servant,  was  always  busy  about  the 
house,  sewing,  washing,  cooking,  cleaning,  patch 
ing,  milking,  and  sweeping.  Day  in  and  day  out 
it  was  always  the  same.  The  man  was  always 
working,  and  the  woman  was  always  working. 
They  had  no  rest  except  on  Sunday,  and  then 
they  were  too  tired  to  pay  much  attention  to  their 
son. 

"  The  consequence  was,  that  while  the  boy  was 
a  very  bright  lad,  he  was  full  of  mischief,  up  to 
all  sorts  of  tricks  and  pranks  that  some  people  call 


THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN.        93 

meanness.  By  hook  or  by  crook  —  or  maybe  by 
book  —  he  had  learned  how  to  spell  and  read. 
But  the  only  book  he  had  to  read  was  one  with 
big  pictures  of  men  dressed  in  red  clothes,  and 
armed  with  yellow  cutlasses.  The  book  was  called 
<  The  Pirooters  of  Peruvia.'  " 

"  Maybe  the  name  was  (  The  Pirates  of  Peru/  ' 
suggested  Buster  John. 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger.  "I 
don't  suppose  any  such  country  as  Peru  had  been 
found  on  the  map  when  that  book  was  written. 
But  never  mind  about  that.  The  boy  read  only 
that  book,  and  he  became  rather  wild  in  his  mind. 
He  wanted  to  be  a  pirooter,  whatever  that  was, 
and  so  he  armed  himself  with  old  hoe  helves  and 
called  them  pikes,  and  he  tied  a  shingle  to  his 
side  and  called  it  a  cutlass,  and  he  got  him  a 
broom-handle  and  called  it  a  horse. 

"  This  boy's  name  was  Johnny,  but  sometimes 
they  called  him  Jack  for  short.  Some  people  said 
he  was  mean  as  he  could  be ;  but  I  don't  say  that. 
He  was  fonder  of  scampering  over  the  country 
than  he  was  of  helping  his  mother.  Maybe  he 
did  n't  know  any  better  because  he  was  n't  taught 
any  better.  But  one  morning  his  mother  was  so 


94  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

tired  that  she  could  n't  get  out  of  bed.  She  had 
worn  herself  out  with  work.  The  next  morning 
she  couldn't  get  up,  nor  the  next;  and  then  the 
neighbors,  who  had  come  in  to  see  what  the  mat 
ter  was,  said  that  she  would  never  get  up  any 
more.  So  one  day  Johnny  found  everything  very 
still  in  the  house,  and  the  neighbors  who  were 

7  O 

there  were  kinder  to  him  than  they  ever  had  been, 
and  then  he  knew  that  his  mother  would  never 
get  tired  any  more. 

"  He  felt  so  bad  that  he  wandered  off  into  the 
woods,  crying  as  he  went.  His  eyes  were  so  full 
of  tears  that  he  could  n't  see  where  he  was  going, 
and  he  did  n't  care.  He  went  on  and  on,  until, 
finally,  when  he  took  heart  to  look  around,  he 
found  himself  in  a  part  of  the  country  that  was 
new  to  him.  This  caused  him  to  dry  his  eyes,  for 
he  was  perfectly  sure  that  he  had  traveled  neither 
fast  nor  far  enough  to  be  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
numberless  journeys  he  had  made  in  all  directions 
from  his  father's  house;  and  yet,  here  he  was, 
suddenly  and  without  knowing  how  he  got  there, 
in  a  country  that  was  altogether  new  to  him. 

"  It  was  just  like  when  you  came  down  through 
our  spring  gate,"  said  -Mr.  Thimblefmger.  "  The 


THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN.        95 

grass  was  different  and  the  trees  were  different, 
and  even  the  sand  and  the  gravel  were  of  a  color 
that  Johnny  had  never  seen  before.  Suddenly, 
while  he  was  wondering  how  he  could  have  missed 
seeing  all  these  strange  things  when  he  had  jour 
neyed  this  way  before,  a  lady,  richly  dressed,  came 
out  of  the  woods  and  stood  before  him.  She 
neither  smiled  nor  looked  severe,  but  pity  seemed 
to  shine  in  her  face. 

66 '  What  now  ? '  she  said,  raising  her  hand  to 
her  head.  (  You  have  come  fast  and  come  far. 
You  are  in  trouble.  Go  back.  When  you  want 
me,  go  to  the  Whispering  Poplar  that  stands  on 
the  hill  and  call  my  name.' 

"  '  Who  are  you  ? '  asked  Johnny,  forgetting  to 
be  polite,  if  he  ever  knew  how. 

"  '  The  Keeper  of  the  Cows  that  roam  in  the 
night,'  replied  the  lady.  '  When  you  go  to  the 
Whispering  Poplar  that  stands  on  the  hill,  whis 
per  this :  — 

O  Keeper  of  Cows  that  roam  in  the  night, 
Come  over  the  hill  and  lend  me  your  light.' 

"  Johnny  would  have  thanked  the  woman,  but 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  she  was  gone  without 


96  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

making  a  sound,  and  not  a  blade  of  grass  shook 
to  show  that  she  had  been  there.  Johnny  turned 
in  his  tracks  and  started  home  the  way  he  came. 
Before  he  had  gone  far  he  stopped  to  look  back, 
but  the  strange  country  was  nowhere  to  be  seen 
—  only  the  old  familiar  hills  and  trees  that  he  had 
always  known. 

"  When  he  got  home  there  was  a  strange  woman 
cooking  and  fixing  his  father's  supper.  The  table 
was  set,  and  everything  was  almost  as  neat  and  as 
tidy  as  it  used  to  be  when  his  mother  was  alive. 
Even  his  own  little  plate  was  in  its  place,  and  his 
mug,  with  the  picture  of  a  blue  castle  painted  on 
it,  was  by  the  plate.  But  Johnny  had  no  appetite. 
He  went  to  the  door  and  looked  in,  and  then  went 
to  the  stable.  Once  there,  he  suddenly  remem 
bered  that  he  had  forgotten  to  drive  the  cow  in 
from  the  pasture.  He  went  running  to  get  her, 
but  found  her  coming  along  of  her  own  accord, 
something  she  was  not  in  the  habit  of  doing. 

"  Johnny  wondered  a  little  at  this,  but  it  soon 
passed  out  of  his  mind,  and  he  got  behind  the 
cow  and  made  her  go  faster.  He  drove  the  cow 
into  the  lot,  and  waited  awhile  for  the  woman  to 
come  and  milk.  But  she  delayed  so  long  that  he 


A   LADY,   RICHLY   DRESSED,   CAME   OUT  OF   THE  WOODS 


THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN.        97 

went  to  the  house  and  found  his  father  eating 
supper.  Instead  of  going  to  the  table,  he  went 
and  sat  by  the  fire. 

"  '  Have  something  to  eat  ? '  said  the  woman. 

"  '  I  am  not  hungry/  he  replied. 

"  '  Have  a  glass  of  fresh  milk,  then  ? '   she  said. 

"  '  Not  to-night/  he  answered.  6  I  have  just 
driven  the  cow  in  from  the  pasture.' 

"  ( I  brought  her  from  the  pasture  myself/  said 
the  woman,  '  milked  her,  and  turned  her  out 
again.' 

"Johnny  said  nothing  to  this,  but  he  knew 
the  cow  had  not  been  milked,  and  he  wondered 
where  the  woman  got  the  milk  that  his  father  was 
drinking.  He  thought  it  over,  and  forgot  all 
about  his  grief.  He  noticed  that  as  soon  as  his 
father  drank  the  milk  he  began  to  smile  at  the 
woman.  He  smiled  at  the  woman,  but  was  cross 
to  Johnny. 

"  After  supper  the  woman  went  out,  and  after 
a  while  Johnny  went  out,  too,  leaving  his  father 
sitting  by  the  fire  smoking  his  pipe.  Johnny 
went  to  the  lot,  thinking  the  woman  had  gone 
there.  He  wanted  to  see  whether  she  would  milk 
the  cow.  He  crept  along  the  side  of  the  fence, 


98  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

and  soon  he  was  near  enough  to  peep  through  a 
crack  without  being  seen.  He  saw  the  woman 
rubbing  the  cow  on  the  back  while  the  calf  was 
getting  all  the  milk. 

"  '  You  see  how  good  I  am  to  you,  sister/  said 
she.  '  Now  I  want  you  to  be  good  to  me.  When 
that  boy  Jack  goes  after  you  to  the  pasture, 
I  want  you  to  lead  him  a  chase.  I  saw  him  beat 
ing  your  calf  to-day.  But  see  how  good  I  am  to 
your  calf,  sister.  I  give  it  all  the  milk.' 

"  The  cow  shook  her  horn  and  switched  her 
tail,  and  Johnny,  sitting  in  the  fence  corner,  won 
dered  what  it  all  meant. 

"  6 1  see/  said  the  cow,  after  a  while.  ( You 
want  to  marry  the  boy's  father,  and  the  boy  is  in 
the  way.  But  suppose  they  find  you  out.  What 
then  ? ' 

"  '  Trust  me  for  that,  sister/  said  the  woman ; 
'  trust  me  for  that.' 

"Johnny  waited  to  hear  no  more,  but  crept 
away  and  went  to  bed.  He  was  dressed  and  out 
by  sun-up  next  morning,  but  the  woman  was 
up  before  him,  and  had  breakfast  nearly  ready. 
Johnny  asked  her  if  she  had  milked  the  cow,  and 
she  replied  that  she  had  milked  and  forgotten 


THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN.        99 

about  it.  Johnny  saw  the  milk-pail  setting  on  the 
shelf,  and  when  he  looked  at  it  he  knew  the  cow 
had  not  been  milked,  else  the  sides  of  the  pail 
would  have  been  spattered. 

"But  the  cow  had  been  turned  out,  and  the 
calf  was  sleeping  contentedly  in  the  fence  corner, 
instead  of  nibbling  the  grass.  Johnny  drank  no 
milk  at  breakfast,  but  his  father  did,  and  smiled 
at  the  woman  more  than  ever.  During  the  day 
Johnny  forgot  all  about  the  cow,  but  when  night 
came  he  knew  she  must  be  brought  up,  so  he  went 
to  the  pasture  after  her.  She  was  not  to  be  found. 
He  hunted  over  the  hills  and  fields,  and  then,  not 
finding  her,  began  to  cry. 

"  Suddenly  the  lady  he  had  seen  the  day  before 
stepped  out  of  the  wood  and  spoke  to  him.  She 
held  in  her  hand  a  tiny  lantern. 

"  '  Take  this,'  she  said,  holding  out  the  lantern. 
6  You  would  n't  call  me,  and  so  I  came  to  you.' 

"  '  I  forgot,'  whispered  Johnny. 

" '  Don't  forget  any  more,'  said  the  lady. 
6  Take  this  lantern  and  run  to  the  Whispering 
Poplar  that  stands  on  the  hill.  You  '11  find  your 
cow  tied  there.  Drive  her  home,  and  don't  spare 
her.' 


100  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  Johnny  found  the  cow  tied  to  the  poplar  sure 
enough,  and  he  made  her  gallop  home  as  fast  as 
she  could.  He  blew  out  his  tiny  lantern  before 
he  got  in  sight  of  the  house,  but  it  dropped  from 
his  hand  and  he  could  find  it  no  more.  He  ceased 
to  hunt  for  it  after  a  while,  and  drove  the  cow  to 
the  lot,  where  the  woman  was  waiting. 

"  '  Go  get  your  supper,'  she  said  to  Johnny. 

"  '  Yes  'm,'  replied  Johnny,  but  he  went  off 
only  to  creep  back  to  see  what  the  woman  would 
do. 

"  She  abused  the  cow  terribly.  He  could  see 
that  she  was  angry.  '  You  are  a  nice  sister,'  she 
exclaimed,  '  to  let  that  boy  bring  you  home  so 
early.' 

"'Don't  "sister"  me/  moaned  the  cow.  'I'm 
nearly  famished,  and  that  boy  has  nearly  run  me 
off  my  legs.  Somebody  that  I  could  n't  see 
caught  me  and  tied  me  to  a  tree  this  morning,  and 
there  I  've  been  all  day.  We  'd  better  go  away 
from  here.  That  boy  will  find  you  out  yet.' 

"  Then  Johnny  crept  away,  ate  his  supper,  and 
went  to  bed.  He  slept  late  the  next  morning,  but 
when  he  awoke  he  found  that  his  father,  instead 
of  being  at  work,  as  was  his  habit,  was  smoking 


THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN.      101 

his  pipe  and  talking  to  the  woman,  and  both  were 
smiling  at  each  other  very  sweetly.  That  after 
noon,  Johnny  went  to  bring  the  cow  home  before 
sundown,  but  he  could  n't  find  her.  He  hunted 
and  hunted  for  her  until  long  after  dark,  and  then 
he  went  to  the  Whispering  Poplar  that  stands  on 
the  hill,  and  said  :  — 

"  '  O  Keeper  of  Cows  that  roam  in  the  night, 
Come  over  the  hills  and  lend  me  your  light ! ' 

"  Instantly  Johnny  heard  a  cow  lowing  in  the 
valley,  and  saw  a  light  glimmering  faintly  in  the 
distance.  In  a  little  while  he  heard  a  tremendous 
clatter  of  hoofs  up  the  hill,  and  the  rushing  of 
some  large  animal  through  the  bushes.  It  seemed 
to  have  one  eye  only  and  that  eye  shone  as  fiercely 
as  a  flame  of  fire  as  its  head  swayed  from  side  to 
side.  It  came  rushing  to  the  poplar-tree  where 
Johnny  stood,  and  stopped  there.  Johnny  peeped 
from  behind  the  tree  and  saw  that  the  frightful 
animal  was  nothing  more  than  his  cow,  with  a  tiny 
lantern  hanging  on  her  horn.  She  stood  there 
panting  and  trembling.  Johnny  waited  to  see 
if  the  Keeper  of  Cows  that  roam  in  the  night 
would  make  her  appearance,  but  he  waited  in  vain. 


102  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Then  he  drove  the  cow  home,  turned  her  into 
the  lot,  and  went  in  the  house  to  get  his  supper. 
His  father  and  the  woman  were  sitting  very  close 
together. 

"  '  Have  you  brought  the  cow  ? '  the  woman 
asked. 

"  '  She  's  in  the  lot/  replied  Johnny. 

"  '  You  are  a  smart  boy/  said  the  woman. 

"  '  Thanky,  ma'am/  exclaimed  Johnny. 

"  So  it  went  on  day  after  day.  The  woman 
would  make  the  cow  wander  farther  and  farther 
away  from  home,  and  Johnny  would  go  to  the 
Whispering  Poplar  that  stands  on  the  hill  and  call 
for  the  beautiful  lady,  the  Keeper  of  the  Cows 
that  roam  in  the  night,  and  soon  the  cow  would 
come  running  and  lowing.  Then  Johnny  would 
drive  her  home  by  the  light  of  his  little  lantern. 
This  happened  so  often  that  the  neighbors,  and 
indeed  the  people  in  all  that  country,  when  they 
saw  a  light  bobbing  around  at  night,  would  shake 
their  heads  and  say,  '  There  goes  Jack  with  his 
lantern/  and  then  after  a  while  they  called  him 
'  Jack  of  the  Lantern.' 

"  One  day  he  heard  two  of  the  neighbors  talk 
ing  about  him,  saying  it  was  a  pity  that  so  bright 


THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN.      103 

a  boy  should  have  such  a  stepmother  as  the  woman 
his  father  was  about  to  marry.  Then  Johnny  (or 
Jack,  as  he  was  sometimes  called)  knew  that  his 
father  was  preparing  to  marry  the  woman  who 
was  keeping  house  for  him,  and  it  made  the  boy 
feel  very  wretched  to  think  that  this  woman  was 
to  take  the  place  of  his  mother. 

"  That  very  day  he  went  to  the  Whispering  Pop 
lar  that  stands  on  the  hill  and  called  for  the  Keeper 
of  the  Cows  that  roam  in  the  night.  The  lady 
made  her  appearance,  and  then  Johnny  told  her 
his  troubles.  The  lady  smiled  for  the  first  time. 
Then  she  told  Johnny  that  if  he  would  follow  her 
directions  his  troubles  would  disappear.  She  gave 
him  a  roll  of  blue  ribbon,  and  told  him  what  to 
say  when  he  presented  it  to  the  woman  just  before 
the  marriage  took  place.  She  told  him  also  what 
to  do  with  his  little  lantern.  Johnny  went  home 
feeling  very  much  better,  and  that  night  his  father 
told  him  he  was  to  have  a  new  mother  the  next 
day.  He  said  nothing  in  reply,  but  smiled  as  if 
the  news  pleased  him. 

"  Johnny  lay  awake  that  night  a  long  time,  and 
once  he  thought  the  woman  came  and  leaned  over 
his  bed  as  if  to  listen,  but  just  then  a  cow  not  far 


104  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

away  lowed  once,  twice,  thrice.     Then  the  woman 
went  away  muttering  something. 

"  The  next  day  the  invited  guests  began  to  as 
semble  early,  and  after  a  while  the  preacher  came. 
The  women  neighbors  would  have  the  bride  to 
stand  up  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  to  admire  her 
just  before  the  ceremony,  and  when  she  stood  up 
Johnny  began  to  march  around  her,  waving  his 
lantern  and  his  blue  ribbon  and  singing  :  — 

"  '  I  have  for  the  bride  ten  yards  of  blue  ribbon  — 

Ten  yards  of  blue  ribbon,  ten  yards  of  blue  ribbon  — 
I  have  for  the  bride  ten  yards  of  blue  ribbon, 

So  rich  and  so  soft  and  so  rare  ; 
Five  yards  to  pin  on  her  snowy  white  bosom  — 

Her  snowy  white  bosom,  her  snowy  white  bosom  — - 
Five  yards  to  pin  on  her  snowy  white  bosom, 

And  five  to  tie  in  her  hair. 

"  '  I  have  a  lantern  to  light  her  along  with  — 

To  light  her  along  with,  to  light  her  along  with  — 
I  have  a  lantern  to  light  her  along  with, 

When  forth  she  fares  in  the  night  ; 
Out  in  the  dark,  the  ribbon  will  rustle  — 

The  ribbon  will  rustle,  the  ribbon  will  rustle  — 
Out  in  the  dark  the  ribbon  will  rustle, 

And  the  lantern  will  lend  her  its  light  !  ' 

"  Johnny  threw  the  blue  ribbon  over  the 
woman's  shoulder  and  around  her  neck,  and 


THE  LITTLE  BOY  OF  THE  LANTERN.      105 

waved  his  lantern,  and  instantly  the  woman  dis 
appeared,  and  in  her  place  stood  a  cow.  Before 
the  people  could  recover  their  surprise,  the  lady 
that  Johnny  had  seen  at  the  Whispering  Poplar 
came  into  the  room  and  bowed  to  the  company. 

" '  This  is  the  most  malicious  cow  in  all  my 
herd/  said  she,  '  and  this  brave  boy  has  caught 
her.  Here  is  a  purse  of  gold  for  his  reward.  As 
for  you,  sir/  turning  to  Johnny's  father,  '  you 
may  thank  your  son  for  saving  you  from  this 
witch.'  Then  she  bowed  again,  and  went  away, 
leading  the  cow,  and  neither  of  them  was  ever 
seen  in  that  country  again. 

"  But  to  this  day,  when  people  see  a  light  bob 
bing  up  and  down  in  the  fields  at  night,  they  say, 
'  Yonder 's  Jack  of  the  Lantern  ! '  " 


X. 

A    LUCKY    CONJURER. 

"  Now,  I  think  that  was  a  pretty  good  story/' 
said  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  It  had  something  about  cows 
in  it.  and  there  was  nothing  about  king's  and 

7  O  O 

princes.  I  would  n't  give  that "  -  Mr.  Rabbit 
blew  a  whiff  of  smoke  from  his  mouth  —  "  for  all 
your  princes  and  kings.  Of  course  that  's  on  ac 
count  of  my  ignorance.  I  don't  know  anything 
about  them.  I  reckon  they  are  just  as  good 
neighbors  as  anybody,  when  you  come  to  know 
them  right  well." 

O 

Buster  John  laughed  at  this,  but  Sweetest 
Susan  only  smiled. 

"  Oh,  I  am  not  joking,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit 
solemnly.  "  There  's  no  reason  why  kings  and 
queens  and  princes  should  n't  be  just  as  neigh 
borly  as  other  people.  If  a  king  and  queen  were 
keeping  house  anywhere  near  me,  and  were  to 
send  over  after  a  mess  of  salad,  or  to  borrow  a 
cup  of  sugar  or  a  spoonful  of  lard,  I'd  be  as  ready 


A  LUCKY  CONJURER.  107 

to  accommodate  them  as  I  would  any  other  neigh 
bors,  and  I  reckon  they'd  do  the  same  by  me." 

"They  'd  be  mighty  foolish  if  they  did  n't," 
said  Mrs.  Meadows. 

"  I  hear  tell  dat  folks  hafter  be  monstus  umble- 
come-tumble  when  dey  go  foolin'  'roun'  whar  dey 
er  kingin'  an'  a  queenin'  at,"  remarked  Brasilia. 
"  Ef  dey  sont  me  fer  ter  borry  any  sugar  er 
lard  fum  de  house  whar  dey  does  de  kingin'  an' 
queenin',  I  boun'  you  I  'd  stan'  at  the  back  gate 
an'  holler  'fo'  I  went  in  dar  whar  dey  wuz  a-havin' 
der  gwines  on.  Dey  would  n't  git  me  in  dar  'fo' 
I  know'd  how  de  Ian'  lay." 

"I  expect  you  are  right,  Tar  Baby,"  replied 
Mr.  Rabbit. 

"  Well,  I  'm  glad  you  did  n't  go  to  sleep  over 
the  story  of  the  little  boy  and  the  lantern.  But 
it  did  n't  have  any  moral,"  said  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger. 

"  Why,  I  reckon  that  's  the  reason  I  did  n't  do 
any  nodding,"  explained  Mr.  Rabbit.  "I  knew 
there  was  something  the  matter." 

o 

There  was  a  pause,  during  which  Mr.  Rabbit 
betrayed  a  tendency  to  fall  to  nodding  again. 
Presently  Mrs.  Meadows  remarked  :  — 


108  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  I  mind  me  of  a  story  that  I  heard  once  —  I 
reckon  the  talk  about  kings  and  queens  made  me 
remember  it.  Anyway,  it  popped  into  my  head 
all  of  a  sudden,  though  I  had  n't  thought  about 
it  in  years." 

"  Fire  away  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Rabbit,  opening 
his  eyes  and  slowly  closing  them  again. 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  in  the  land  of 
Moraria  a  man  who  was  very  poor.  He  worked 
whenever  and  wherever  he  could  find  work,  yet 
he  had  so  many  children  that  even  if  he  had  found 
work  every  day  he  could  have  made  hardly  enough 
for  all  to  eat  and  wear.  As  it  was,  times  were  so 
hard  and  work  was  so  scarce  that  he  frequently 
had  to  go  hungry  and  half  clothed.  His  wife  did 
the  best  she  could,  which  was  very  little.  She 
worked  about  the  palace  where  the  king  had  lived, 
but  as  she  was  only  one  among  a  hundred,  she 
got  small  wages,  and  had  few  opportunities  to 
carry  any  scraps  of  victuals  to  her  children. 

"  Finally  the  man  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  must  make  a  desperate  effort  to  better  his  con 
dition,  so  he  said  to  his  wife  :  — 

"  <  What  are  my  five  senses  for  ?  I  see  other 
people  living  by  their  wits,  and  dressing  fine  and 


A  LUCKY  CONJURER.  109 

enjoying  the  best  in  the  land.  Why  should  n't 
I  do  the  same  ?  What  is  to  prevent  me  but  my 
stupidity  ? ' 

"  '  Stupidity  is  a  high  fence  to  climb  over/  re 
plied  the  man's  wife.  *  But  if  you  are  willing  to 
try  how  far  your  wits  will  carry  you,  you  will 
have  a  good  opportunity  in  a  few  days.  The 
king's  daughter,  the  Princess  Myla,  is  to  be  mar 
ried  next  week,  and  even  now  the  guests  are  as 
sembling  at  the  palace  —  most  of  them  belonging., 
to  the  bridegroom's  retinue.' 

"  The  man  leaned  his  head  on  his  hand  and 
thought  a  while,  and  then  he  rose  and  put  on  the 
best  clothes  he  had,  which  were  poor  enough,  and 
tied  a  rope  girdle  around  his  waist. 

"  '  I  shall  go  to  court  as  a  pilgrim,'  he  said  to 
his  wife.  ( When  you  see  me,  do  you  go  around 
among  the  other  servants  and  tell  them  that  a 
great  conjurer  has  arrived  from  the  East.  In 
this  way  it  will  come  quickly  to  the  King's  ears. 
Nothing  will  come  of  that,  but  the  next  morning 
something  valuable  will  be  missing  from  the  pal 
ace.  When  you  hear  of  it,  do  you  tell  the  rest 
that  you  know  a  man  who  can  find  whatever  is 
missing.' 


110  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  But  how  will  you  do  this  ? '  asked  the  wo 
man. 

"  '  Leave  that  to  me/  he  replied. 

"  The  man  carried  out  his  plan,  and  his  wife  fol 
lowed  his  directions.  She  pointed  him  out  to  her 
fellow-servants  as  a  great  conjurer  from  the  East. 
Ragged  as  he  was,  the  man  stalked  majestically 
about  the  palace-yard,  and  after  a  while  sat  on  the 
ground  with  his  face  to  the  wall,  and  shook  his 
head  from  side  to  side,  and  made  many  queer  mo 
tions  with  his  hands. 

"  Now,  while  the  man  sat  there  going  through 
his  queer  motions,  he  heard  voices  on  the  other 
side  of  the  wall.  He  judged  that  two  men  were 
resting  in  the  shade  on  that  side,  and  he  knew  by 
the  way  they  talked  that  they  had  come  with  the 
young  Prince  who  was  to  marry  the  Princess 
My  la. 

"  '  You  have  left  the  blanket  on  the  horse.  I 
hope,'  said  one. 

"  6  Yes,  everything  is  attended  to,'  replied  the 
other. 

"'That  is  well,'  remarked  the  first.  '  The 
Prince,  our  master,  desires  the  Princess  Myla  to 
be  the  first  to  look  on  this  beautiful  horse,  which 


A   LUCKY  CONJURER.  Ill 

has  just  come  out  of  Arabia.  I  will  go  myself 
to  see  that  the  animal  is  properly  cared  for.' 

"Presently  two  strangers  came  through  the 
gate,  laughing  and  talking,  and  the  man  who  was 
playing  the  conjurer  knew  they  were  the  keepers 
of  the  horse.  He  rose  when  they  went  by,  and 
watched  them  until  he  saw  what  part  of  the  pal 
ace  stables  they  entered.  Then  he  slowly  made 
his  way  out  of  the  palace  grounds. 

"  That  night  he  went  back  and  removed  the 
horse,  placing  it  where  no  one  would  be  likely 
to  find  it.  Then  he  told  his  wife  what  he  had 
done. 

"  '  There  will  be  a  great  outcry,'  said  he,  '  when 
the  horse  is  missed.  In  the  midst  of  it  make  your 
voice  heard,  and  remind  the  young  Prince's  at 
tendants  that  there  is  a  famous  conjurer  within 
reach  who  can  no  doubt  find  the  horse.' 

"As  the  man  said,  so  it  turned  out.  There 
was  a  great  noise  made  when  it  was  found  that 
the  beautiful  Arabian  horse  had  been  stolen.  The 
young  Prince  was  ready  to  tear  his  hair,  so  great 
was  his  disappointment.  He  offered  a  large  sum 
of  money  to  any  one  who  would  recover  the  horse. 
When  the  excitement  was  at  its  highest,  the 


112  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

woman  mentioned  to  some  of  the  attendants  that 
a  famous  conjurer  had  come  to  the  palace.  She 
then  pointed  her  husband  out  to  the  men.  At 
once  the  news  was  carried  to  the  Prince,  who  was 
with  the  King. 

"  The  King  was  not  a  believer  in  conjurers,  and 
he  quickly  told  the  attendants  to  go  send  the  vag 
abond  about  his  business.  But  the  young  Prince 
was  so  keen  to  recover  the  beautiful  horse  which 
he  had  intended  as  a  wedding  gift  for  the  Princess 
My  la  that  he  insisted  on  consulting  the  conjurer. 
So  the  man  was  sent  for.  He  came,  followed  by 
a  number  of  people  who  were  anxious  to  see  what 
he  would  do.  He  had  a  very  wise  look  as  he 
bowed  to  the  King  and  to  the  Prince. 

"  '  Who  are  you  ? '  the  King  asked  with  a 
frown. 

"  '  A  poor  pilgrim/  your  Majesty.  '  Nothing 
more.' 

66 f  What  is  your  business  ?  ' 

"  '  I  am  a  student,  your  Majesty.' 

"  '  Where  are  your  books  ? ' 

"  6  In  men's  faces,  your  Majesty.' 

"  The  man's  replies  were  so  apt  that  the  King's 
ill-humor  partly  passed  away. 


A  LUCKY  CONJURER.  113 

" '  A  horse  has  been  stolen  from  the  royal 
stables/  said  the  King.  '  I  am  told  you  are  a  con 
jurer.  If  you  are,  find  the  horse/ 

"  The  man  seated  himself  on  the  carpet,  drew 
a  crystal  stone  from  his  pocket,  and  asked  the 
young  Prince  to  warm  it  in  the  palm  of  his  hand. 
Then  the  man  took  it  and  looked  at  it  a  few  mo 
ments,  rubbing  his  hand  over  it  as  if  something 
blurred  his  sight.  Then  he  said  :  — 

"  ( The  horse  has  on  a  blanket  woven  on  a  Rus 
sian  loom.  I  see  !  A  dapple-gray  with  milk-white 
mane  and  tail.' 

" '  That  is  the  horse ! '  cried  the  Prince. 
'Where  is  he?' 

"  '  He  is  tied  in  a  thicket  a  half  league  from 
here,  near  a  road  that  leads  to  the  river.  He 
paws  the  ground  and  whinnies  for  his  master. 
He  is  hungry.' 

"  At  once  messengers  were  sent  and  the  horse 
found.  The  Prince  was  about  to  give  the  man 
a  purse  of  gold,  but  the  King  stayed  his  hand, 
saying :  — 

"  '  I  '11  test  this  fellow.  I  believe  he  is  an  im- 
poster.' 

"  The  man  was  very  much  frightened  at  this, 


114  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

but  there  was  no  escape  for  him.  The  King  went 
to  his  private  apartment,  and  shortly  came  back 
with  a  covered  basket  in  his  hand. 

"  '  There  is  a  bird  in  this  nest/  said  the  King. 
6  If  you  are  a  conjurer,  tell  me  the  name  of 
it.' 

"  '  Alas,  your  Majesty/  cried  the  man,  prepar 
ing  to  fall  on  his  knees  and  beg  for  mercy,  '  a 
nest  that  would  n't  fit  a  sparrow  might  chance  to 
fit  a  crow.' 

"  '  You  certainly  have  gifts/  remarked  the  King 
as  he  lifted  the  cover  from  the  basket.  As  he 
did  so  a  crow  hopped  out  and  went  stalking  about 
the  room.  The  man  was  more  astonished  than 
the  King.  In  his  fright  he  had  hit  on  an  old 
saying  that  he  had  often  heard,  and  it  saved  his 
life. 

"  The  Prince  gave  the  man  a  purse  of  gold  and 
he  was  about  to  retire,  when  suddenly  an  attend 
ant  came  running  into  the  chamber  crying  that 
some  one  had  stolen  the  beautiful  diamond  ring 
belonging  to  the  Princess  Myla. 

"  '  Tell  the  Princess  to  trouble  herself  no  fur 
ther.  We  have  here  a  man  who  will  be  able  to 
find  it/  said  the  King. 


AS   HE   DID   SO,   A   CROW   HOPPED  OUT 


A  LUCKY  CONJURER.  115 

"  '  Allow  me  a  little  time,  your  Majesty/  cried 
the  man,  who  was  now  frightened  nearly  out  of 
his  wits.  '  Let  me  go  into  a  vacant  room  in  a 
quiet  part  of  the  palace,  where  I  may  have  an 
opportunity  to  look  into  this  matter.' 

"  He  was  soon  placed  in  a  room  near  the  ser 
vants'  quarters,  the  attendants  telling  him  that 
he  would  he  summoned  by  the  King  in  an  hour. 
He  went  into  the  room,  shut  the  door,  and  flung 
himself  on  the  floor,  bewailing  his  unhappy  con 
dition. 

"  Now  the  ring  had  been  stolen  by  one  of  the 
women  in  attendance  on  the  Princess.  She  was 
so  pale  and  sad-looking  that  her  companions  had 
nicknamed  her  Misery,  and  sometimes  the  Prin 
cess  herself,  in  a  spirit  of  fun,  called  her  by  that 
name.  She  had  heard  how  the  conjurer  had  dis 
covered  the  stolen  horse,  and  she  had  seen  him 
name  the  crow  in  the  covered  basket.  Conse 
quently  she  was  very  much  frightened  when  she 
heard  the  King1  command  him  to  find  the  stolen 

O 

ring.  She  saw  the  conjurer  go  into  the  room,  and 
after  a  while  she  crept  to  the  door  to  listen,  so 
great  was  her  fear. 

"  The  man  in  the  room  was  not  thinking  of  the 


116  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

stolen  ring  at  all.  He  was  merely  bewailing  his 
unhappy  lot. 

"  '  Oh,  misery,  misery  !  '  he  cried ;  6 1  have 
heard  of  you,  hut  now  I  know  you  ! ' 

"  He  had  no  sooner  said  this  than  there  came 
a  knock  on  the  door  and  a  voice  said :  — 

"  '  Don't  talk  so  loud  !     Open  the  door  ! ' 

"  The  man  opened  the  door  and  saw  a  woman 
standing  there  trembling  and  weeping. 

"  '  Don't  expose  me/  she  said,  '  but  spare  my 
life.  I  have  the  ring  here.  I  did  wrong  to  steal 
it.' 

"  For  a  moment  the  man  was  so  overcome  with 
astonishment  that  he  was  unable  to  speak.  He 
took  the  ring  in  his  hand  and  looked  at  it  while 
the  woman  continued  to  plead  with  him.  He 
handed  her  the  ring  again. 

"  (  Take  it,'  he  said,  '  and  place  it  beneath  the 
corner  of  one  of  the  rugs  in  the  bedroom  of  the 
Princess.  Be  quick  about  it,  for  I  am  going  to 
the  King.' 

"  The  woman  ran  and  did  as  she  had  been  told, 
and  then  the  man  came  from  the  room  and  sent 
an  attendant  to  inform  the  King  that  the  ring  had 
been  found.  The  King  sent  for  him. 


A  LUCKY  CONJURER.  117 

u  '  Where  is  the  ring  ? ' 

"  '  Under  a  corner  of  a  rug  in  the  bedroom  of 
the  Princess,  your  Majesty/  replied  the  man,  bow 
ing  low  and  smiling. 

"Search  was  at  once  made,  and  sure  enough 
the  beautiful  ring  was  found  under  a  corner  of  a 
rug  in  the  Princess's  bedroom.  The  Princess  her 
self  came  to  thank  the  conjurer,  and  if  he  had  not 
been  a  very  sensible  man  his  head  would  have 
been  turned  by  the  attention  he  received.  Even 
the  King  no  longer  doubted  the  conjurer's  pow 
ers. 

"  '  There  is  something  in  this  man,'  said  the 
King,  and  he  straightway  offered  him  a  high  posi 
tion  among  his  councilors. 

"  The  man  thanked  the  King  most  heartily,  but 
declared  that  his  business  would  not  allow  him  to 
remain  another  day  at  court.  So  the  King  gave 
him  a  purse  of  gold,  the  young  Prince  gave  him 
another,  and  the  beautiful  Princess  My  la  gave 
him  a  string  of  pearls  of  great  value.  Then  he 
went  home,  bought  him  some  land,  built  him  a 
comfortable  house,  and  went  into  business  for  him 
self. 

"  It  sometimes  happened   that  his   wife  com- 


118  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

plained  because  lie  did  not  accept  the  King's  offer 
and  remain  at  court,  so  that  she  might  have  flour 
ished  as  a  fine  lady,  but  he  always  replied  by  say 
ing  that  the  man  is  a  fool  who  will  tempt  Provi 
dence  more  than  three  times  in  a  lifetime.  Though 

o 

he  went  into  the  palace  poor  and  came  out  of  it 
rich,  he  had  escaped  only  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth. 
He  was  always  grateful  for  his  good  fortune, 
and  by  his  example  taught  his  children  to  lead 
virtuous  lives  and  always  to  help  the  poor  and 
needy." 


XI. 

THE    KING    OF    THE    CLINKERS. 

CHICKAMY  Crany  Crow  and  Tickle-My-Toes 
had  stopped  frolicking,  and  were  now  listening  to 
the  stories.  While  Mrs.  Meadows  was  telling 
about  the  lucky  conjurer,  Tickle-My-Toes  became 
very  uneasy.  He  moved  about  restlessly,  pulled 
off  his  big  straw  hat,  put  it  on  again,  and  seemed 
to  be  waiting  impatiently  for  the  time  to  come 
when  he  might  say  something. 

So,  when  Mrs.  Meadows  had  finished,  she  looked 
at  Tickle-My-Toes  to  see  what  he  wanted.  The 
rest  did  the  same.  But  Tickle-My-Toes  blushed 
very  red,  and  looked  at  his  feet. 

"  You  acted  as  if  you  wanted  to  say  some 
thing,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows,  "and  if  you  do,  now's 
your  chance.  What  's  the  matter?  Have  you 
run  a  splinter  in  your  foot?  You  look  as  if  you, 
wanted  to  cry." 

"  I  did  want  to  say  something,"  replied  Tickle- 
My-Toes. 


120  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  What  was  it  ?  "  Mrs.  Meadows  inquired. 

"Nothing  much,"  answered  Tickle-My-Toes, 
putting  his  finger  in  his  mouth. 

"  I  declare,  I  'm  ashamed  o£  you/'  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Meadows.  "  Here  you  are  mighty  near  as 
old  as  I  am,  and  yet  trying  to  play  boo-hoo  baby." 

"  I  don't  think  you  ought  to  talk  that  way," 
said  Tickle-My-Toes.  "I  thread  your  needles 
for  you  every  day,  and  I  do  everything  you  ask 


me." 


"  I  know  what  's  the  matter  with  you,"  re 
marked  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  You  want  me  to  take 
you  in  my  lap  and  rock  you  to  sleep." 

"  Oh  !  I  don't !  "  cried  Tickle-My-Toes,  blush 
ing  again.  "  I  wanted  to  tell  a  story  I  heard, 
but  I  '11  go  off  somewhere  and  tell  it  to  myself." 

"  There  would  n't  be  any  fun  in  that,"  sug 
gested  Buster  John. 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows.  "Tell  the  story 
right  here,  so  we  can  enjoy  it  with  you." 

"  You  '11  laugh,"  protested  Tickle-My-Toes. 

"  Not  unless  there  's  something  in  the  story  to 
laugh  at." 

"  This  is  no  laughing  story.  It  's  just  as  sol 
emn  as  it  can  be,"  explained  Tickle-My-Toes. 


THE  KING   OF  THE  CLINKERS.  121 

"  Good  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  If  there  's 
anything  I  like,  it  is  one  of  those  solemn  stories 
that  make  you  feel  like  you  want  to  go  off  behind 
the  house  and  shake  hands  with  yourself,  and  cry 
boo-hoo  to  the  ell-and-yard  and  seven  stars." 

Mr.  Rabbit's  enthusiastic  remark  was  very  en 
couraging  to  Tickle-My-Toes,  who,  after  scratch 
ing  his  head  a  little,  and  looking  around  to  see  if 
he  could  find  a  place  to  hide  when  the  time  came, 
began  his  story  in  this  wise  :  — 

"  Once  upon  a  time,  and  in  a  big  town  away 
off  yonder  somewhere,  there  lived  a  little  boy  who 
had  no  father  nor  mother.  He  was  so  small  that 
nobody  seemed  to  care  anything  about  him.  But 
one  day  a  woman,  the  wife  of  a  baker,  heard  him 
crying  in  the  streets,  and  carried  him. into  the 
house,  and  gave  him  something  to  eat,  and  warmed 
him  by  the  fire,  and  after  that  he  felt  better. 

"  The  baker  himself  grumbled  a  great  deal 
when  he  came  home  and  found  what  his  wife  had 
done.  He  said  he  would  n't  be  surprised  to  come 
home  some  day  and  find  his  house  full  of  other 
people's  children.  But  his  wife  replied  that  it 
would  be  well  enough  to  complain  when  he  found 
the  house  full.  As  for  this  little  brat,  she  said, 


122  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

he  would  n't  fill  a  milk  jar  if  he  was  put  in  it, 
much  less  a  great  big  house. 

"  The  baker  growled  and  grumbled,  but  his 
wife  paid  no  attention  to  him.  She  sat  in  her 
chair  and  rocked  and  sang,  and  was  just  as  good- 
natured  as  she  could  be.  After  a  while  the  baker 
himself  got  over  his  grumbling,  and  began  to 
lauo'h.  He  told  his  wife  that  he  had  sold  all  his 

o 

bread  that  day,  and  had  orders  for  as  much  the 
next  day. 

"  '  Of  course/  said  she ;  '  but  if  I  had  left  that 
child  crying  in  the  streets  your  business  would 
have  been  ruined  before  the  year  is  out.' 

"  '  Maybe  so,'  replied  the  baker. 

"  Well,  the  little  boy  grew  very  fast,  and  was 
as  lively  as  a  cricket.  The  baker's  wife  thought 
as  much  of  him  as  if  he  had  been  her  own  son, 
and  the  baker  himself  soon  came  to  be  very  fond 
of  him.  He  was  very  smart,  too.  He  learned  to 
watch  the  fire  under  the  big  oven,  and  to  make 
himself  useful  in  many  ways.  He  played  about 
the  oven  so  much,  and  was  so  fond  of  watching 
the  bread  bake  and  the  fire  burn,  that  the  baker's 
wife  called  him  Sparkle  Spry. 

"  For  many  years  the  country  where  the  baker 


THE  KING   OF  THE   CLINKERS.  123 

and  his  wife  and  Sparkle  Spry  lived  had  been  at 
peace  with  all  the  other  countries.  But  one  day 
a  man  from  a  neighboring  country  had  his  nose 
pulled  by  somebody  in  the  baker's  country,  and 
then  war  was  declared  by  the  kings  and  queens, 
and  the  people  fell  to  fighting. 

"  Now,  when  people  fight  they  must  be  fed, 
and  the  cheapest  thing  to  feed  them  on  is  bread. 
A  part  of  the  army  camped  near  the  town  where 
the  baker  lived,  and  there  was  a  great  demand  for 
bread.  The  baker's  oven  was  not  a  large  one, 
and  by  running  it  day  and  night  he  could  only 
bake  three  hundred  loaves. 

"  He  and  his  wife  baked  until  they  were  tired 
out.  They  told  Sparkle  Spry  to  watch  the  oven 
so  that  the  bread  wouldn't  burn,  and  to  wake 
them  when  it  was  brown.  They  were  so  tired 
that  Sparkle  Spry  was  sorry  for  them,  and  he  won 
dered  why  he  was  n't  big  enough,  to  take  their 
places,  if  only  for  one  day  and  night.  While  he 
was  thinking  and  wishing1,  he  saw  something  mov- 

O  O'  O 

ing.  He  rubbed  his  eyes  and  looked  again,  and 
then  he  saw  an  old  man,  no  bigger  than  a  broom- 

'  Oo 

stick,  and  no  taller  than  a  teacup,  peeping  from 
behind  the  oven. 


124  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  Are  they  all  gone  ? '  he  whispered,  coming 
forward  a  little  way. 

"  '  All  who  ? '  asked  Sparkle  Spry. 

"  '  The  old  ones  —  the  big  man  and  the  fat 

o 

woman.' 

"  *  They  have  gone  to  bed/  said  Sparkle  Spry. 
( I  can  call  them  ! ' 

66 '  No,  no/  cried  the  old  man.  '  They  are  such 
fools  !  They  don't  know  what  is  good  for  them. 
I  have  been  waiting  for  years  to  get  a  chance  to 
show  them  how  to  bake  bread.  Once  I  showed 
myself  to  the  man,  and  he  thought  I  was  a  snake ; 
once  to  the  woman,  and  she  thought  I  was  a  rat. 
What  fools  they  are  ! ' 

66 '  Who  are  you  ? '  inquired  Sparkle  Spry.  He 
did  n't  like  to  hear  his  friends  abused. 

«  <  \Vho  —  me  ?  I  'm  the  King  of  the  Clinkers 
—  twice  plunged  in  the  water  and  twice  burned 
in  the  fire.' 

"  '  Well,  to-night  you  can  bake  all  the  bread 
you  want  to,'  said  Sparkle  Spry.  '  The  baker  and 
his  wife  have  been  trying  to  supply  the  army  that 
is  camped  here,  but  their  oven  is  too  small.  They 
have  worked  until  they  can  work  no  longer,  and 
now  they  have  gone  to  bed  to  rest.' 


HE   SAW  AN   OLD   MAN,    NO   BIGGER  THAN  A   BROOMSTICK 


THE  KING  OF  THE  CLINKERS.  125 

"  '  Good ! '  cried  the  King  of  the  Clinkers. 
6  Shut  the  door,  so  they  can't  hear  us  !  I  '11  show 
them  a  thing  or  two  about  baking  bread.' 

"  Then  he  walked  close  to  the  hot  oven,  tapped 
on  it  with  a  little  poker  that  he  carried  in  his  belt, 
and  called  out :  '  Wake  up  !  Get  out !  Come 
on  !  Hurry  up  !  We  've  no  time  to  lose  !  Show 
yourselves  !  Stir  about !  Be  lively  ! ' 

"  With  that,  hundreds  of  little  men  swarmed 
out  of  the  ash  heap  behind  the  oven,  some  of 
them  sneezing  and  some  rubbing  their  eyes,  but 
all  jumping  about  with  motions  as  quick  as  those 
of  a  flea  when  he  jumps." 

"  Oh,  please  don't  talk  about  fleas,"  pleaded 
Mr.  Rabbit,  shuddering  and  scratching  himself 

7  O  O 

behind  the  ear.  "  It  makes  the  cold  chills  run 
up  my  back.  I  never  hear  'em  named  but  I  think 
I  can  feel  'em  crawling  on  me." 

"  Anyhow,  that 's  the  way  the  little  men  jumped 
about,"  said  Tickle-My-Toes,  resuming  his  story. 
"  They  swarmed  in  and  out  of  the  oven,  hot  as  it 
was;  they  swarmed  in  and  out  of  the  flour  bar 
rels  ;  they  swarmed  in  and  out  of  the  trough  where 
the  dough  was  kneaded ;  and  they  swarmed  in  and 
out  of  the  woodshed. 


126  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  The  King  of  the  Clinkers  stood  sometimes  on 
the  ed«;e  of  the  oven,  sometimes  on  the  ed«;e  of 

O  '  O 

the  flour  barrels,  sometimes  on  the  edge  of  the 
trough,  sometimes  on  the  woodpile,  and  sometimes 
at  the  door  of  the  furnace.  And  wherever  he 
stood  he  waved  his  tiny  poker  and  told  the  others 
what  to  do. 

"  Some  of  the  little  men  carried  wood  to  the 
furnace,  some  carried  flour  and  water  to  the  trough, 
some  carried  dough  to  the  oven,  and  some  brought 
out  the  hot  and  smoking  bread.  Sparkle  Spry 
watched  all  this  with  so  much  surprise  that  he 
did  n't  know  what  to  say  or  do.  He  saw  the 
loaves  of  bread  rise  up  in  rows  as  high  as  the 
ceiling,  and  he  sat  and  watched  it  as  dumb  as  an 
oyster.  He  had  seen  bread  baked,  but  he  had 
never  seen  such  baking  as  this. 

"  Finally  the  eye  of  the  King  of  the  Clinkers 
fell  on  Sparkle  Spry.  '  Don't  sit  there  doing 
nothing,'  he  cried.  '  Go  fetch  wood  and  pile  it 
here  by  the  furnace  door.  You  can  do  that ! ' 

"  Sparkle  Spry  did  as  he  was  bid,  but  though 
he  brought  the  wood  as  fast  as  he  could,  he  found 
that  he  could  n't  bring  it  fast  enough.  Pretty 
soon  the  King  of  the  Clinkers  called  out  to  him  : 


THE  KING  OF  THE  CLINKERS.  127 

"  '  You  can  rest  now.  The  flour  is  all  gone, 
and  we  have  hardly  begun.' 

" '  There  's  plenty  in  the  storehouse/  said 
Sparkle  Spry. 

"  (  How  many  barrels? '  asked  the  King  of  the 
Clinkers. 

"  '  Two  hundred/  Sparkle  Spry  answered. 

"  The  Kino;  of  the  Clinkers  wrung1  his  hands  in 

o  o 

despair.  '  Hardly  a  mouthful  —  hardly  a  mouth 
ful  !  It  will  all  be  gone  before  the  chickens  crow 
for  day.  But  run  fetch  the  key.  Two  hundred 
barrels  will  keep  us  busy  while  they  last.' 

66  Sparkle  Spry  brought  the  key  of  the  store 
house  door,  and  the  little  men  swarmed  in  and 
rolled  the  barrels  out  in  a  jiffy.  Only  one  acci 
dent  happened.  In  taking  the  flour  out  of  one 
of  the  barrels,  after  they  had  rolled  it  near  the 
dough  trough,  one  of  the  little  men  fell  in  and 
would  have  been  drowned  but  for  Sparkle  Spry, 
who  felt  around  in  the  loose  flour  and  lifted  him 
out." 

"  Drowned  !  "  cried  Sweetest  Susan. 

"  Of  course,"  answered  Tiekle-My-Toes.  "  Why 
not  ?  I  ought  to  have  said  c  smothered,'  but  now 
that  I  've  said  '  drowned '  I  '11  stick  to  it." 


128  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  Better  stick  to  the  story/'  remarked  Mr.  Rab 
bit  solemnly,  —  "  better  stick  to  the  story." 

"  Now,  I  think  he  's  doing  very  well,"  said  Mrs. 
Meadows  in  an  encouraging  tone. 

"  Well,"  said  Tickle-My-Toes,  "  the  little  men 
worked  away  until  they  had  baked  the  two  hun 
dred  barrels  of  flour  into  nice  brown  loaves  of 
bread.  This  made  five  hundred  barrels  they  had 
used,  and  that  was  all  the  baker  had  on  hand. 
The  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of  flour  made  twenty 
hundred  and  odd  fat  loaves,  and  these  the  King 
of  the  Clinkers  had  carried  into  the  storehouse. 

"  When  all  this  was  done,  and  nicely  done,  the 
King  of  the  Clinkers  went  to  the  door  of  the  room 
where  the  baker  and  his  wife  were  sleeping.  They 
were  snoring  as  peacefully  as  two  good  people 
ever  did.  Then  he  went  to  the  street  door  and 
listened. 

"  '  Get  home  —  get  home  ! '  he  cried  to  the  lit 
tle  men.  f  I  hear  wagons  rumbling  on  the  pave 
ment  ;  they  will  be  here  presently  for  bread.' 

"  The  little  men  scampered  this  way  and  that, 
behind  the  oven  and  into  the  ash  heap,  and,  in  a 
few  seconds,  all  had  disappeared. 

"  '  Now,'  said  the  King  of  the  Clinkers,  '  I  want 


THE  KING   OF  THE  CLINKERS.  129 

to  tell  you  that  I  've  had  a  splendid  time,  and 
I  'm  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  it.  I  have 
enjoyed  myself,  and  I  want  to  make  some  returns 
for  it.  Pretty  soon  the  bread  wagons  will  be  at 
the  door  clamoring  for  bread.  You  will  wake  the 
baker  and  his  wife.  When  they  find  all  their 
flour  made  into  nice  bread  they  will  be  very  much 
surprised.  They  will  ask  you  who  did  it.  You 
must  tell  them  the  truth.  They  will  not  believe 
it,  but  they  '11  be  very  proud  of  you.  They  will 
be  willing  to  give  you  anything  you  want.  Tell 
them  you  want  a  wooden  horse.  They  will  have 
it  built  for  you.  It  must  have  a  window  on  each 
side  and  good  strong  hinges  in  the  legs.  Good- 
by !  I  hear  the  wagons  at  the  door.' 

"  The  King  of  the  Clinkers  waved  his  hand 
and  disappeared  behind  the  oven.  The  wagons 
rattled  near  the  door,  the  teamsters  cracking  their 
whips  and  calling  for  bread  for  the  hungry  army. 
Sparkle  Spry  ran  to  the  baker  and  shook  him,  and 
ran  to  the  baker's  wife  and  shook  her.  They 
were  soon  awake,  but  when  the  baker  learned  that 
the  wagons  had  come  for  bread,  he  threw  up  both 
hands  in  despair. 

"  f  I  'm  ruined  ! '  he  cried.     '  I  ought  to  have 


130  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

been  baking  and  here  I  've  been  sleeping !  And 
the  army  marches  away  to-day,  leaving  me  with 
all  my  stock  of  flour  on  hand.  Oh,  why  did  n't 
the  boy  wake  me  ?  ' 

"  '  Come/  said  his  wife  ;  <  we  '11  sell  what  we  've 
got,  and  not  cry  over  the  rest.' 

"  They  went  into  the  storehouse,  and  there  they 
saw  a  sight  such  as  they  had  never  seen  before. 
The  room  was  so  full  of  steaming  bread  that  they 
could  hardly  squeeze  in  at  the  door.  From  floor 
to  ceiling  it  was  stacked  and  packed.  They  sold 
and  sold  until  every  loaf  was  gone,  and  then,  in 
stead  of  the  bread,  the  baker  and  his  wife  had  a 
sack  full  of  silver  money. 

"  The  baker  went  in  to  count  it,  but  his  wife 
took  it  away  from  him.  '  Not  now,'  she  said  ; 
'  not  until  we  have  thanked  this  boy.' 

"  '  You  are  right ! '  cried  the  baker.  '  It  's  the 
most  wonderful  thing  I  ever  heard  of.  How  did 
you  manage  it  ? ' 

"  '  Some  little  men  helped  me/  answered  Spar 
kle  Spry. 

"  The  woman  seized  his  hands  and  kissed  his 
fingers.  '  These  are  the  little  men/  she  ex 
claimed. 


THE  KING   OF  THE  CLINKERS.  131 

"  '  There  's  one  thing  I  'm  sorry  for/  said 
Sparkle  Spry. 

"  '  What  is  that  ? '  asked  the  baker. 

"  '  Why,  we  had  to  burn  so  much  wood.' 

"  '  Don't  mention  it  —  don't  mention  it/  pro 
tested  the  baker. 

"  '  Now/  said  the  baker's  wife,  embracing  Spar 
kle  Spry  again,  '  you  deserve  something  for  mak 
ing  us  rich.  What  shall  it  be  ? ' 

"The  baker  frowned  a  little  at  this,  but  his 
brow  cleared  when  Sparkle  Spry  replied  that  he 
wanted  a  wooden  horse  built. 

"  '  You  shall  have  it/  said  the  baker's  wife. 

"  c  Yes,  indeed/  assented  the  baker.  '  As  fine 
a  one  as  you  want.' ' 


XII. 

THE    TERRIBLE    HORSE. 

WHEN  Tickle-My-Toes  had  told  about  how 
pleased  the  baker  and  his  wife  were  with  Sparkle 
Spry,  he  paused  and  looked  at  Chickamy  Crany 
Crow,  as  if  he  expected  that  she  would  beckon 
him  away.  But,  instead  of  that,  she  said :  — 

"  Why,  that  is  n't  all." 

"  Well,  it  's  enough,  I  hope,"  replied  Tickle- 
My-Toes. 

"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows,  "  it 's  not  enough, 
if  there  's  any  more.  Why,  so  far  it  's  the  best 
of  all  the  stories.  It 's  new  to  me.  I  had  an  idea 
that  I  had  heard  all  the  stories,  but  this  one  is  a 
pole  over  my  persimmon,  as  we  used  to  say  in  the 
country  next  door." 

"  I  don't  like  to  tell  stories,"  protested  Tickle- 
My-Toes,  puckering  his  face  in  a  comical  way. 
"It  's  too  confining." 

"  Nonsense  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  It 's 
time  you  were  settling  down.  What  will  you  look 


THE   TERRIBLE  HORSE.  133 

like  a  year  or  two  from  now,  if  you  keep  on  cut 
ting  up  your  capers  ?  " 

Tickle-My-Toes  caught  hold  of  the  corner  of 
Chickamy  Crany  Crow's  apron,  and,  thus  fortified, 
resumed  his  story  :  — 

"  Well,  the  baker  and  his  wife  promised  Spar 
kle  Spry  they  would  have  him  a  big  wooden  horse 
made,  and  they  were  as  good  as  their  word.  They 
sent  right  off  that  very  day  for  a  carpenter  and 
joiner,  and  when  he  came,  Sparkle  Spry  showed 
the  man  what  he  wanted.  He  said  the  horse  must 
be  as  much  like  a  real  horse  as  could  be  made  out 
of  wood,  and  three  times  as  big. 

"  The  man  asked  the  baker's  wife  what  the  brat 
wanted  with  such  a  machine  as  that,  and  this  made 
the  good  woman  mad. 

"  '  He  's  no  brat,  I  can  tell  you  that ! '  she  ex 
claimed,  '  and  if  he  wants  a  play  horse  as  big  as  a 
whale  and  the  same  shape,  he  shall  have  it.  Now 
if  you  want  to  make  his  play  horse,  get  to  work 
and  make  it.  If  not,  I  '11  get  somebody  else  to 
make  it.' 

"  But  the  man  declared  he  meant  no  harm,  and 
said  he  was  glad  to  get  the  work.  So  he  got  the 
lumber,  and  in  a  few  days,  being  a  very  clever 


134  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

workman,  lie  had  finished  the  wooden  horse.  He 
made  it  just  as  Sparkle  Spry  wanted  him  to.  He 
put  big  hinges  at  the  joints  of  the  legs,  cut  a  win 
dow  in  each  side  of  the  body,  made  the  ears  and 
the  nostrils  hollow,  and  fixed  pieces  of  glass  for 
the  eyes. 

"  The  carpenter  seemed  to  enjoy  his  work,  too, 
for  every  time  he  went  off  a  little  distance  to  see 
how  his  work  looked,  he  laughed  as  hard  as  he 
could.  When  he  was  nearly  done  he  asked  Spar 
kle  Spry  if  he  wanted  the  roof  shingled. 

"  '  Why,  no,'  replied  the  boy.  '  There  's  no 
roof  there.  Besides,  horses  don't  have  shingles 
on  them/ 

"  He  '11  look  pretty  rough,"  remarked  the  man. 

"  '  Yes,'  said  Sparkle  Spry,  '  but  after  you  get 
through  with  him  he  is  to  be  polished  off.' 

"  '  That  's  so,'  the  carpenter  assented,  '  but  this 
horse  has  a  good  many  things  about  him  that 
other  horses  have  n't  got.' 

"  So,  when  the  carpenter  was  through  with  the 
horse,  a  leather  finisher  was  sent  for,  and  he  cov 
ered  the  horse  with  hides  of  cows  tanned  with  the 
hair  on,  and  fixed  a  cow's  tail  where  the  horse's 
tail  should  have  been. 


THE   TERRIBLE  HORSE.  135 

"  The  baker  grumbled  a  little  at  this  extra  ex 
pense,  and  said  he  was  afraid  Sparkle  Spry  had 
strained  his  head  the  night  he  baked  so  much 
bread.  But  the  baker's  wife  said  she  would  like 
to  have  a  whole  house  full  of  crazy  children,  if 
Sparkle  Spry  was  crazy. 

"  When  the  wooden  horse  was  finished,  Sparkle 
Spry  waited  until  the  baker  and  his  wife  had  gone 
to  bed,  and  then  he  tapped  on  the  oven  and  whis 
tled.  Presently  the  King  of  the  Clinkers  peeped 
out  to  see  what  the  matter  was.  He  came  from 
behind  the  oven  cautiously,  until  he  found  that 
Sparkle  Spry  was  alone,  and  then  he  came  forth 
boldly. 

"  '  The  horse  is  ready,'  said  Sparkle  Spry. 

"  '  Keady  ! '  exclaimed  the  King  of  the  Clink 
ers.  '  Well,  I  think  it  is  high  time.  My  work 
men  could  have  built  it  in  a  night ;  and  here  I 
have  been  waiting  and  waiting  for  I  don't  know 
how  long.' 

" '  I  hope  you  '11  like  it,'  Sparkle  Spry  sug 
gested. 

o 

"'Like  it!'  cried  the  King  of  the  Clinkers. 
(  Why,  of  course  I  '11  like  it.  I  have  n't  enjoyed 
a  ride  in  so  long  that  I  'm  not  likely  to  quarrel 
with  the  horse  that  carries  me.' 


136  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  But  this  is  a  wooden  horse/  remarked  Spar 
kle  Spry. 

"  '  I  should  hope  so  ;  yes,  indeed  ! '  grunted 
the  King  of  the  Clinkers.  '  I  have  been  riding 
wooden  horses  as  long  as  I  can  remember.  They 
may  be  a  little  clumsy,  but  they  suit  me.' 

66 '  But  this  horse  has  no  rockers/  persisted 
Sparkle  Spry.  '  It  is  as  solid  as  a  house.' 

"  £  Much  you  know  about  wooden  horses/  said 
the  King  of  the  Clinkers.  '  Wait ;  I  '11  call  my 
torchbearers.' 

"  He  tapped  on  the  oven  with  his  tiny  poker, 
and  immediately  a  company  of  little  men  filed  out 
from  behind  it.  As  they  passed  the  furnace  door 
they  lit  their  torches  at  a  live  coal,  and  marched 
out  to  the  wooden  horse,  followed  by  the  King  of 
the  Clinkers  and  Sparkle  Spry. 

"  The  latter  had  reason  to  be  very  much  aston 
ished  at  what  he  saw  then  and  afterwards.  The 
torchbearers  led  the  way  to  the  left  foreleg  of 
the  wooden  horse,  opened  a  door,  and  filed  up  a 
spiral  stairway,  the  King  of  the  Clinkers  follow 
ing  after.  Sparkle  Spry  climbed  up  by  means  of 
a  stepladder  that  the  carpenter  had  used.  When 
he  crawled  through  the  window  in  the  side  of  the 


THE   TERRIBLE  HORSE.  137 

wooden  horse,  he  saw  that  a  great  transformation 
had  taken  place,  and  the  sight  of  it  almost  took 
his  breath  away. 

"  A  furnace  with  a  small  bake  oven  had  been 
fitted  up,  and  there  was  also  a  supply  of  flour,  coal, 
and  wood.  The  flue  from  the  furnace  ran  in  the 
inside  of  the  horse's  neck,  finding  a  vent  for  the 
smoke  at  the  ears.  On  all  sides  were  to  be  seen 
the  tools  and  furniture  of  a  bakery,  and  there 
were  places  where  the  little  men  might  stow  them 
selves  away  when  they  were  not  on  duty,  and 
there  was  a  special  apartment  for  the  King  of  the 
Clinkers. 

"  In  a  little  while  the  whole  interior  of  the 
horse  swarmed  with  the  followers  of  the  King  of 
the  Clinkers,  who  stood  counting  them  as  they 
came  in. 

"  '  All  here,'  he  said,  waving  his  little  poker. 
'  Now  get  to  bed  and  rest  yourselves.' 

"  They  complied  so  promptly  that  they  seemed 
to  disappear  as  if  by  magic.  The  torchbearers 
had  thrown  their  torches  in  the  furnace,  and  as 
wood  had  already  been  placed  there,  a  fire  was 
soon  kindled. 

"  '  Now,'  said  the  King  of  the  Clinkers,  closing 


138  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

the  draught, c  we  '11  let  it  warm  up  a  little  and  see 
if  the  carpenter  has  done  his  work  well.' 

"  Thereupon  he  pulled  a  cord  that  seemed  to 
be  tied  to  a  bell,  and,  in  a  little  while,  Sparkle 
Spry  felt  that  the  horse  was  in  motion.  He 
hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  it.  He  went  to 
the  window  and  peeped  out,  and  the  lights  in  the 
houses  seemed  to  be  all  going  to  the  rear.  Occa 
sionally  a  creaking  sound  wras  heard,  and  some 
times  he  could  feel  a  jar  or  jolt  in  the  horse's 
frame. 

"'Are  we  flying?'  he  asked,  turning  to  the 
King"  of  the  Clinkers. 

o 

"  '  Flying  !  Nothing  of  the  sort.  Don't  you 
feel  a  jolt  when  the  horse  lifts  up  a  foot  and  puts 
it  down  again  ?  I  'm  mighty  glad  it  is  a  pacing 
horse.  If  it  wras  a  trotting  horse  it  would  shake 
us  all  to  pieces.' 

"  '  Where  are  we  going  ? '  inquired  Sparkle 
Spry. 

"  '  Following  the  army  —  following  the  army,' 
replied  the  King  of  the  Clinkers.  <  There  's  go 
ing  to  be  a  big  battle  not  far  from  here,  and  we 
may  take  a  hand  in  it.  The  king  of  the  country 
is  a  fat  old  rascal,  and  is  n't  very  well  thought  of 


THE   TERRIBLE  HORSE.  139 

by  the  rest  of  the  kings,  who  are  his  cousins ;  but 
I  live  here,  and  he  has  never  bothered  me.  Con 
sequently,  I  don't  mind  helping  him  out"  in  a 
pinch/ 

"  '  How  far  do  you  have  to  go  ? '  asked  Sparkle 
Spry,  who  had  no  great  relish  for  war  if  it  was  as 
hard  as  he  had  heard  it  was. 

"  '  Oh,  a  good  many  miles,'  replied  the  King  of 
the  Clinkers,  '  and  we  are  not  getting1  on  at  ah1. 

'  O  O 

There  's  not  enough  mutton  suet  on  the  knee 
hinges  to  suit  me.' 

"  So  saying,  he  struck  the  bell  twice,  and  in 
stantly  Sparkle  Spry  could  feel  that  the  wooden 
horse  was  going  faster. 

66 '  Does  the  horse  go  by  the  road  or  through 
the  fields  ? '  asked  Sparkle  Spry. 

"  f  Oh,  we  take  short  cuts  when  necessary,'  an 
swered  the  King  of  the  Clinkers.  '  We  have  no 
time  to  go  round  by  the  road.  I  hope  you  are 
not  scared.' 

"  '  No,  not  scared,'  replied  Sparkle  Spry  some 
what  doubtfully;  'but  it  makes  me  feel  queer  to 
be  traveling  through  the  country  in  a  wooden 
horse.' 

"  Nothing  more  was  said  for  some  time,  and 


140  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Sparkle  Spry  must  have  dropped  off  to  sleep,  for 
suddenly  he  was  aroused  by  the  voice  of  the  King 
of  the  Clinkers,  who  called  out :  — 

"  '  Here  we  are  !     Get  up  !     Stir  about ! ' 

"  Sparkle  Spry  jumped  to  his  feet  and  looked 
from  the  window.  Day  was  just  dawning,  and 
on  the  plain  before  him  he  saw  hundreds  of  twink 
ling  lights,  as  if  a  shower  of  small  stars  had  fallen 
to  the  ground  during  the  night.  Being  some 
what  dazed  by  his  experiences,  he  asked  what  they 
were. 

"  '  Camp-fires,'  replied  the  King  of  the  Clink 
ers.  '  The  army  that  we  are  going  to  attack  is 
camped  further  away,  but  if  you  will  lift  your 
eyes  a  little,  you  will  see  their  camp-fires/ 

"  6  Do  we  attack  them  by  ourselves  ?  '  Sparkle 
Spry  asked. 

u  '  Of  course  ! '  the  King  of  the  Clinkers  an- 

o 

swered.  '  I  never  did  like  too  much  company  ; 
besides,  I  want  you  to  get  the  credit  of  it.' 

"  (  Now,  I  'd  rather  be  certain  of  a  whole  skin 
than  to  have  any  credit,'  protested  Sparkle  Spry. 

"  But  the  King  of  the  Clinkers  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  his  protests.  He  gave  his  orders  to  liis 
little  men,  and  strutted  about  with  an  air  of  im- 


THE  TERRIBLE  HORSE.  141 

portance  that  Sparkle  Spry  would  have  thought 
comical  if  he  had  not  been  thinking  of  the  battle. 

"  Daylight  came  on  and  drowned  out  the  camp- 
fires,  leaving  only  thin  columns  of  blue  smoke  to 
mark  them.  The  wooden  horse  moved  nearer 
and  nearer  to  the  army  directly  in  front  of  them, 
and  finally  came  close  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
commanding  general,  who  sent  out  a  soldier  to  in 
quire  the  meaning  of  the  apparition.  Finally  the 
general  came  himself,  accompanied  by  his  staff, 
and  to  him  Sparkle  Spry  repeated  what  the  King 
of  the  Clinkers  had  told  him  to  say.  The  general 
pulled  his  mustache  and  knitted  his  brows  might 
ily,  and  finally  he  said  :  — 

"  6 1  'm  obliged  to  you  for  coming.  You  '11 
have  to  do  the  best  you  can.  I  never  have  com 
manded  a  wooden  horse,  and  if  I  were  to  tell  you 
what  to  do,  I  might  get  you  into  trouble.  1 711 
just  send  word  along  the  line  that  the  wooden 
horse  is  on  our  side,  and  you  '11  have  to  do  the 
best  you  can.' 

"  As  he  said,  so  he  did.  The  army  soon  knew 
that  a  big  wooden  horse  had  come  to  help  it,  and 
when  the  queer  looking  machine  moved  to  the 
front,  the  soldiers  got  out  of  the  way  as  fast  as 


142  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

they  could,  and  some  of  them  forgot  to  carry  their 
arms  with  them.  But  order  was  soon  restored, 
and  presently  it  was  seen  that  the  opposing  army 
was  marching  forward  to  begin  the  battle. 

66  The  King  of  the  Clinkers  waited  until  the 
line  was  formed,  and  then  he  sounded  the  little 
bell.  The  horse  started  off.  The  bell  rang 
twice,  and  the  horse  went  faster.  Sparkle  Spry, 
looking  from  the  window,  could  see  that  he  was 
going  at  a  tremendous  rate.  The  horse  went  close 
to  the  opposing  army,  and  then  turned  and  went 
down  the  line  to  the  left.  Turning,  it  came  up 
the  line,  this  time  very  close.  Turning  again,  it 
came  back,  and  the  soldiers  in  the  front  line  were 
compelled  to  scamper  out  of  the  way.  While  this 
was  going  on,  the  other  army  came  up,  but  by  the 
time  it  arrived  on  the  battle-ground  there  was 
nothing  to  fight. 

"  The  wooden  horse  had  stampeded  the  enemy's 
army,  and  the  soldiers  had  all  run  away,  leaving 
their  arms,  their  tents,  and  their  bread  wagons  to 
be  captured. 

"  The  commanding  general  of  the  victorious 
army  thanked  Sparkle  Spry  very  heartily.  '  I  '11 
mention  your  name  in  my  report  to  the  king/  he 


THE   WOODEN    HORSE    HAD   STAMPEDED   THE    ENEMY'S   ARMY 


THE   TERRIBLE  HORSE.  143 

said.  '  But  I  hardly  know  what  to  say  about  the 
affair.  You  would  n't  call  this  a  battle,  would 
you?' 

"  '  No/  replied  Sparkle  Spry,  ( I  saw  no  signs 
of  a  battle  where  I  went  along.' 

"  '  It  is  very  curious/  said  the  general.  '  I 
don't  know  what  we  are  coming  to.  A  great 
victory,  but  nobody  killed  and  no  prisoners 
taken.' 

"  Then  he  went  off  to  write  his  report,  and 
some  time  afterward  the  king  sent  for  Sparkle 
Spry,  and  gave  him  lands  and  houses  and  money, 
and  made  him  change  his  every-day  name  for  a 
high-sounding  one.  And  the  baker  and  his  wife 
came  to  live  near  him,  and  the  King  of  the  Clink 
ers  used  to  come  at  night  with  all  his  little  men, 
and  they  had  a  very  good  time  after  all,  in  spite 
of  the  high-sounding  name." 

With  this,  Tickle-My-Toes  turned  and  ran  away 
as  hard  as  he  could,  whereupon  Mr.  Rabbit 
opened  his  eyes  and  asked  in  the  most  solemn 
way  :  — 

"  Is  there  a  wooden  horse  after  him  ?  I  wish 
you  'd  look." 


XIII. 

HOW    BROTHER    LION    LOST    HIS    WOOL. 

MR.  RABBIT  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand,  and 
pretended  to  believe  that  there  might  be  a  wooden 
horse  trying  to  catch  Tickle-My-Toes  after  all. 
But  Mrs.  Meadows  said  that  there  was  no  danger 
of  anything  like  that.  She  explained  that  Tickle- 
My-Toes  was  running  away  because  he  did  n't 
want  to  hear  what  was  said  about  his  story. 

"I  think  he  's  right,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit. 
"  It  was  the  queerest  tale  I  ever  heard  in  all  my 
life.  You  might  sit  and  listen  to  tales  from  now 
until  —  well  —  until  the  first  Tuesday  before  the 
last  Saturday  in  the  year  seven  hundred  thousand, 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  and  you  'd 
never  hear  another  tale  like  it." 

"  I  don't  see  why,"  suggested  Mrs.  Meadows. 

"  Well,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  chewing  his  to 
bacco  very  slowly,  "  there  are  more  reasons  than 
I  have  hairs  in  my  head,  but  I  '11  only  give  you 
three.  In  the  first  place,  this  Sparkle  Spry  does  n't 


HOW  BROTHER  LION  LOST  HIS   WOOL.       145 

marry  the  king's  daughter.  In  the  second  place, 
he  does  n't  live  happily  forever  after ;  and  in  the 
third  place  "  -  Mr.  Rabbit  paused  and  scratched 
his  head  —  "I  declare.  I  've  forgotten  the  third 

*  O 


reason." 


"  If  it 's  no  better  than  the  other  two,  it  does  n't 
amount  to  much,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  There  's 
no  reason  why  he  should  n't  have  married  the 
king's  daughter,  if  the  king  had  a  daughter,  and 
if  he  did  n't  live  happily  it  was  his  own  fault. 
Stories  are  not  expected  to  tell  everything." 

"  Now,  I  'm  glad  of  that,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Rab 
bit,  "  truly  glad.  I  've  had  a  story  on  my  mind 
for  many  years,  and  I  've  kept  it  to  myself  because 
I  had  an  idea  that  in  telling  a  story  you  had  to 
tell  everything." 

"  Well,  you  were  very  much  mistaken,"  said 
Mrs.  Meadows  with  emphasis. 

"  So  it  seems  —  so  it  seems/'  remarked  Mr. 
Rabbit. 

"  What  was  the  story  ?  "  asked  Buster  John. 

"I  called  it  a  story,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  "but 
that  is  too  big  a  name  for  it.  I  reckon  you  have 
heard  of  the  time  when  Brother  Lion  had  hair  all 
over  him  as  long  and  as  thick  as  the  mane  he  now 
has?" 


146  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME, 

But  the  children  shook  their  heads.  They  had 
never  heard  of  that,  and  even  Mrs.  Meadows  said 
it  was  news  to  her. 

"  Now,  that  is  very  queer,"  remarked  Mr.  Rab 
bit,  filling  his  pipe  slowly  and  deliberately.  "  Very 
queer,  indeed.  Time  and  again  I  've  had  it  on 
the  tip  of  my  tongue  to  mention  this  matter,  but 
I  always  came  to  the  conclusion  that  everybody 
knew  all  about  it.  Of  course  it  does  n't  seem  rea 
sonable  that  Brother  Lion  went  about  covered 
from  head  to  foot,  and  to  the  tip  of  his  tail,  with 
long,  woolly  hair;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  when 
he  was  first  seen  without  his  long,  woolly  hair,  he 
was  the  laughing-stock  of  the  whole  district.  I 
know  mighty  well  he  was  the  most  miserable 
looking  creature  I  ever  saw. 

"  It  was  curious,  too,  how  it  happened,"  Mr. 
Rabbit  continued.  "  We  were  all  living  in  a 

o 

much  colder  climate  than  that  in  the  country  next 
door.  Six  months  in  the  year  there  was  ice  in 
the  river  and  snow  on  the  ground,  and  them  that 
did  n't  lay  up  something  to  eat  when  the  weather 
was  open  had  a  pretty  tough  time  of  it  the  rest  of 
the  year.  Brother  Lion's  long  woolly  hair  be 
longed  to  the  climate.  But  for  that,  he  would 


HOW  BROTHER  LION  LOST  HIS    WOOL.       147 

have  frozen  to  death,  for  he  was  a  great  hunter, 
and  he  had  to  be  out  in  all  sorts  of  weather. 

"  One  season  we  had  a  tremendous  spell  of  cold 
weather,  the  coldest  I  had  ever  felt.  I  happened 
to  be  out  one  day,  browsing1  around,  when  I  saw 
blue  smoke  rising  a  little  distance  off,  so  I  says  to 
myself,  says  I,  I  '11  go  within  smelling  distance  of 
the  fire  and  thaw  myself  out.  I  went  towards 
the  smoke,  and  I  soon  saw  that  Mr.  Man,  who 
lived  not  far  off,  had  been  killing  hogs. 

"  Now,  the  funny  thing  about  that  hog-killing 
business,"  continued  Mr.  Rabbit,  leaning  back  in 
his  chair  and  smacking  his  lips  together,  as  old 
people  will  do  sometimes,  "was  that,  after  the 
hogs  were  killed,  Mr.  Man  had  to  get  their  hair 
off.  I  don't  know  how  people  do  now,  but  that 
was  what  Mr.  Man  did  then.  He  had  to  get  the 
hair  off --but  how?  Well,  he  piled  up  wood, 
and  in  between  the  logs  he  placed  rocks  and 
stones.  Then  he  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground  and 
half  buried  a  hogshead,  the  open  end  tilted  up  a 
little  higher  than  the  other  end.  This  hogshead 
he  filled  with  as  much  water  as  it  would  hold  in 
that  position.  Then  he  set  fire  to  the  pile  of 
wood.  As  it  burned,  of  course  the  rocks  would 


148  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

become  heated.  These  Mr.  Man  would  take  in  a 
shovel  and  throw  in  the  hogshead  of  water.  The 

o 

hot  rocks  would  heat  the  water,  and  in  this  way 
the  hogs  were  scalded  so  the  hair  on  their  hides 
could  be  scraped  off. 

"  Well,  the  day  I  'm  telling  you  about,  Mr. 
Man  had  been  killing  hogs  and  scalding  the  hair 
off.  When  I  got  there  the  pile  of  wrood  had 
burned  away,  and  Mr.  Man  had  just  taken  his 
hogs  home  in  his  wagon.  The  weather  was  very 
cold,  and  as  I  stood  there  warming  myself  I  heard 
Brother  Lion  roaring  a  little  way  off.  He  had 
scented  the  fresh  meat,  and  I  knew  he  would 
head  right  for  the  place  where  the  hogs  had  been 
killed. 

"  Now,  Brother  Lion  had  been  worrying  me  a 
good  deal.  He  had  hired  Brother  Wolf  to  cap 
ture  me,  and  Brother  Wolf  hadf  ailed.  Then 
he  hired  Brother  Bear,  and  Brother  Bear  got 
into  deep  trouble.  Finally  he  hired  Brother  Fox, 
and  I  knew  the  day  was  n't  far  off  when  Mrs. 
Fox  would  have  to  hang  crape  on  her  door  and 
go  in  mourning.  All  this  had  happened  some 
time  before,  and  I  bore  Brother  Lion  no  good 
will. 


HOW  BROTHER  LION  LOST  HIS    WOOL.       149 

"  So,  when  I  heard  him  in  the  woods  singing 
out  that  he  smelled  fresh  blood,  I  grabbed  the 
shovel  the  man  had  left,  and  threw  a  dozen  or  so 
hot  rocks  in  the  hogshead,  and  then  threw  some 
fresh  dirt  on  the  fire.  Presently  Brother  Lion 
came  trotting  up,  sniffing  the  air,  purring  like 
a  spinning  wheel  a-running,  and  dribbling  at  the 
mouth. 

"  I  passed  the  time  of  day  with  him  as  he  came 
up,  but  kept  further  away  from  him  than  he  could 
jump.  He  seemed  very  much  surprised  to  see 
me,  and  said  it  was  pretty  bad  weather  for  such 
little  chaps  to  be  out;  but  I  told  him  I  had  on 
pretty  thick  underwear,  and  besides  that  I  had 
just  taken  a  hot  bath  in  the  hogshead. 

"  'I  'm  both  cold  and  dirty/  says  he,  smelling 
around  the  hogshead,  'and  I  need  a  bath.  I  've 
been  asleep  in  the  woods  yonder,  and  I  'm  right 
stiff  with  cold.  But  that  water  is  bubbling  around 
in  there  mightily.' 

"  'I  've  just  flung  some  rocks  in/  says  I. 

"  '  How  do  you  get  in  ? '  says  he. 

66  'Back  in/  says  I. 

"  Brother  Lion  walked  around  the  hogshead 
once  or  twice,  as  if  to  satisfy  himself  that  there 


150  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

was  no  trap,  and  then  he  squatted  and  began  to 
crawl  into  the  hogshead  backwards.  By  the  time 
his  hind  leg  touched  the  water,  he  pulled  it  out 
with  a  howl,  and  tried  to  jump  away,  but,  some 
how,  his  foot  slipped  off  the  rim  of  the  hogshead, 
and  he  soused  into  the  water  —  kerchug !  —  up  to 
his  shoulders." 

Mr.  Rabbit  paused,  shut  his  eyes,  and  chuckled 
to  himself. 

"  Well,  you  never  heard  such  howling  since 
you  were  born.  Brother  Lion  scrambled  out 
quicker  than  a  cat  can  wink  her  left  eye,  and 
rolled  on  the  ground,  and  scratched  around,  and 
tore  up  the  earth  considerably.  I  thought  at  first 
he  was  putting  on  and  pretending;  but  the  water 
must  have  been  mighty  hot,  for  while  Brother 
Lion  was  scuffling  around,  all  the  wool  on  his 
body  came  off  up  to  his  shoulders,  and  if  you 
were  to  see  him  to-day  you  'd  find  him  just  that 
way. 

"  And  more  than  that  —  before  he  soused  him 
self  in  that  hogshead  of  hot  water,  Brother  Lion 
used  to  strut  around  considerably.  Being  the 
king  of  all  the  animals,  he  felt  very  proud,  and 
he  used  to  go  with  his  tail  curled  over  his  back. 


^f'1,^.^^ 


YOU    NEVER    HEARD   SUCH    HOWLING   SINCE   YOU   WERE   BORN 


HOW  BROTHER  LION  LOST  HIS    WOOL.       151 

But  since  that  time,  he  sneaks  around  as  if  he  was 
afraid  somebody  would  see  him. 

"  There  's  another  thing.  His  hide  hurt  him 
so  bad  for  a  week  that  every  time  a  fly  lit  on  him 
he  'd  wiggle  his  tail.  Some  of  the  other  animals, 
seeing  him  do  this,  thought  it  was  a  new  fashion, 
and  so  they  began  to  wiggle  their  tails.  Watch 
your  old  house  cat  when  you  go  home,  and  you 
will  see  her  wiggle  her  tail  forty  times  a  day  with 
out  any  reason  or  provocation.  Why?  Simply 
because  the  other  animals,  when  they  saw  Brother 
Lion  wiggling1  his  tail,  thought  it  was  the  fashion ; 

oO          o  '  O  ' 

and  so  they  all  began  it,  and  now  it  has  become 
a  habit  with  the  most  of  them.  It  is  curious  how 
such  things  go. 

"  But  the  queerest  thing  of  all,"  continued  Mr. 
Rabbit,  leaning  back  in  his  chair,  and  looking  at 
Mrs.  Meadows  and  the  children  through  half- 
closed  eyes,  "  was  this  —  that  the  only  wool  left 
on  Brother  Lion's  body,  with  the  exception  of  his 
mane,  was  a  little  tuft  right  on  the  end  of  his 
tail." 

"  How  was  that  ?"  inquired  Mrs.  Meadows. 

Mr.  Rabbit  laughed  heartily,  but  made  no 
reply. 


152  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  I  don't  see  anything  to  laugh  at,"  said  Mrs. 
Meadows  with  some  emphasis.  "  A  civil  question 
deserves  a  civil  answer,  I  've  always  heard." 

"  Well,  you  know  what  you  said  a  while  ago," 
remarked  Mr.  Rabbit. 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  remember,"  replied  Mrs. 
Meadows. 

"  Why,  you  said  pointedly  that  it  was  not 
necessary  to  tell  everything  in  a  story."  Mr. 
Rabbit  made  this  remark  with  great  dignity. 
"And  I  judged  by  the  wray  you  said  it  that  it  was 
bad  taste  to  tell  everything." 

"  Oh,  I  remember  now,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows, 
laughing.  "  It  was  only  one  of  my  jokes." 

"  But  this  is  no  joke,"  protested  Mr.  Rabbit, 
winking  at  the  children,  but  keeping  the  serious 
side  of  his  face  toward  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  I  took 
you  at  your  solemn  word.  Now  there  is  a  tuft  of 
wool  on  Brother  Lion's  tail,  and  you  ask  me  how 
it  happened  to  be  there.  I  answer  you  as  you 
answered  me  —  '  You  don't  have  to  tell  everything 
in  a  story/  Am  I  right,  or  am  I  wrong?" 

"  I  '11  not  dispute  with  you,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Meadows,  taking  up  her  knitting. 

"  I  don't  mind  telling  you,"  remarked  Mr.  Rab- 


HOW  BROTHER  LION  LOST  HIS    WOOL.       153 

bit,  turning  to  the  children  with  a  confidential 
air.  "  It  was  as  simple  as  falling  off  a  log.  When 
Brother  Lion  fell  into  the  hogshead  of  hot  water, 
the  end  of  his  tail  slipped  through  the  bung- 
hole." 

This  explanation  was  such  an  unexpected  one 
that  the  children  laughed,  and  so  did  Mrs.  Mea 
dows.  But  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  who  had  put  in  an 
appearance,  shook  his  head  and  remarked  that  he 
was  afraid  that  Mr.  Rabbit  got  worse  as  he  grew 
older,  instead  of  better. 


XIV. 

BROTHER    LION    HAS    A    SPELL    OF    SICKNESS. 

"  THE  fact  is,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit,  "  I  was 
just  telling  the  story  --if  you  can  call  it  a  story 
-  to  please  company.  If  you  think  the  end  of 
Brother  Lion's  tale  is  the  end  of  the  story,  well 
and  good ;  but  it  did  n't  stop  there  when  I  told  it 
in  my  young  days.  And  it  did  n't  stop  there 
when  it  happened.  But  maybe  I  've  talked  too 
long  and  said  too  much.  You  know  how  we  gab 
ble  when  we  get  old." 

"  I  like  to  hear  you  talk/'  said  Sweetest  Susan, 
edging  a  little  closer  to  Mr.  Rabbit  and  smiling 
cutely. 

Mr.  Rabbit  took  off  his  glasses  and  wiped  them 
on  his  big  red  handkerchief. 

"  There  's  some  comfort  in  that,"  he  declared. 
"  If  you  really  like  to  hear  me  talk,  I  '11  go  right 
ahead  and  tell  the  rest  of  the  story.  It  's  a  little 
rough  in  spots,  but  you  '11  know  how  to  make 
allowances  for  that.  The  creatures  had  claws  and 


BROTHER  LION  HAS  A  SPELL  OF  SICKNESS.  155 

tushes,  and  where  these  grow  thick  and  long, 
there  's  bound  to  be  more  or  less  scratching  and 
biting1. 

r> 

"  Of  course,  when  Brother  Lion  had  the  wool 
scalded  off  his  hide,  he  was  in  a  pretty  bad  con 
dition.  He  managed  to  get  home,  but  it  was  a 
long  time  before  he  could  come  out  and  go  roam 
ing  around  the  country.  As  he  was  the  king  of 
the  animals,  of  course  all  the  rest  of  the  creatures 
called  on  him  to  see  how  he  was  getting  on.  I 
did  n't  go  myself,  because  I  did  n't  know  how  he 
felt  towards  me.  I  was  afraid  he  had  heard  me 
laugh  when  he  backed  into  the  hogshead  of  hot 
water,  though  I  made  believe  I  was  sneezing. 
Consequently,  I  did  n't  go  and  ask  him  how  he 
was  getting  on. 

"  But  I  went  close  enough  to  know  that  Brother 
Fox  had  told  Brother  Lion  a  great  rigamarole 
about  me.  That  was  Brother  Fox's  way.  In 
front  of  your  face,  he  was  sweeter  than  sauce  and 
softer  than  pudding,  but  behind  your  back  — 
well,  he  did  n't  have  any  claws,  but  what  tushes 
he  had  he  showed  them. 

"  I  never  did  hear  what  Brother  Fox  said  about 
me  in  any  one  place  and  at  any  one  time,  but  I 


156  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

heard  a  little  here  and  a  little  there,  and  when  it 
was  all  patched  up  and  put  together  it  made  a 
great  mess.  I  had  done  this,  and  I  had  done 
that;  I  had  laughed  at  Brother  Lion  behind  his 
back,  and  I  had  snickered  at  him  before  his  face; 
I  had  talked  about  him  and  made  fun  of  him; 
and,  besides  all  that,  I  had  never  had  the  polite 
ness  to  call  on  him. 

"All  the  other  animals  found  Brother  Lion  so 
willing  to  listen  that  they  learned  Brother  Fox's 
lies  by  heart,  and  went  and  recited  them  here  and 
there  about  the  country;  and  in  that  way  I  got 
hold  of  the  worst  of  them.  The  trouble  with 
Brother  Fox  was  that  he  had  an  old  grudge 
against  me.  He  had  been  trying  to  outdo  me  for 
many  a  long  year,  but  somehow  or  other  he  always 
got  caught  in  his  own  trap.  He  had  a  willing 
mind  and  a  thick  head,  and  when  these  get  to- 

7  O 

gether  there's  always  trouble.  The  willing  mind 
pushes  and  the  thick  head  goes  with  its  eyes  shut. 
"  In  old  times,  people  used  to  say  that  Brother 
Fox  was  cunning,  but  I  believe  they  've  quit  that 
since  the  facts  have  come  to  light.  My  experience 
with  him  is  that  he  is  blessed  with  about  as  much 
sense  as  a  half-grown  guinea  pig.  He  's  a  pretty 


BROTHER  LION  HAS  A  SPELL  OF  SICKNESS.  157 

swift  runner,  but  he  does  n't  even  know  when  the 
time  comes  to  run. 

"Of  course,  when  Brother  Pox  found  out  that 
for  some  reason  or  other  I  was  n't  visiting  Brother 
Lion,  he  seized  the  chance  to  talk  about  me,  and 
it  was  n't  such  a  great  while  before  he  managed 
to  make  Brother  Lion  believe  that  I  was  the  worst 
enemy  he  had  and  the  cause  of  all  his  trouble. 

"  I  knew  pretty  well  that  something  of  the  sort 
was  going  on,  for  every  time  I  'd  meet  any  of  the 
other  animals,  they  'd  ask  me  why  I  did  n't  call 
and  see  Brother  Lion.  Brother  Fox,  especially, 
was  anxious  to  know  why  I  had  n't  gone  to  ask 
after  Brother  Lion's  health. 

"I  put  them  all  off  for  some  time,  until  finally 
one  day  I  heard  that  Brother  Lion  had  given 
Brother  Fox  orders  to  catch  me  and  bring  me  be 
fore  him.  This  did  n't  worry  me  at  all,  because  I 
knew  that  Brother  Fox  was  just  as  able  to  catch 
me  as  I  was  to  catch  a  wild  duck  in  the  middle 
of  a  mill-pond.  But  I  concluded  I'd  go  and  see 
Brother  Lion  and  find  out  all  about  his  health. 

"So  I  went,  taking  good  care  to  go  galloping 
by  Brother  Fox's  house.  He  was  sitting  on  his 
front  porch,  and  I  could  see  he  was  astonished, 


158  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

but  I  neither  said  howdy  nor  turned  my  head.  I 
knew  he  would  follow  along  after. 

"When  I  got  to  Brother  Lion's  house  every 
thing  was  very  quiet,  but  I  knew  Brother  Lion 
was  awake,  for  I  heard  him  groan  every  time  he 
tried  to  turn  over.  So  I  rapped  at  the  door  and 
then  walked  in.  Brother  Lion  watched  me  from 
under  his  touseled  mane  for  some  time  before  he 
said  anything.  Then  he  says,  says  he  :  — 

<" What's  this  I  hear?'  ' 

"Says  I,  'Not  having  your  ears,  I  can't  say.' 

"'My  ears  are  as  good  as  anybody's  ears,' 
says  he. 

" '  But  I  can  't  hear  through  them,'  says  I. 

"  He  grunted  and  grumbled  a  little  over  this, 
because  he  did  n't  know  what  reply  to  make. 

"  f  You  have  n't  been  to  see  me  until  now,' 
says  he. 

"  '  No,'  says  I ;  '  I  knew  you  were  pretty  bad  off, 
and  so  I  had  no  need  to  come  and  ask  you  how 
you  were.  I  knew  I  was  partly  to  blame  in  the 
matter,  and  so  I  went  off  to  see  if  I  could  n't  find 
a  cure  for  you.' 

"  Says  he,  '  Don't  talk  about  cures.  Every 
body  that  has  come  to  see  me  has  a  cure.  I  've 


BROTHER  LION  HAS  A  SPELL  OF  SICKNESS.  159 

tried  'em  all,  and  now  I  'm  worse  off  than  I  was 
at  first.' 

"  Says  I,  '  I  could  have  come  as  often  as  Bro 
ther  Fox  did,  and  my  coming  would  have  done 
you  just  as  much  good.' 

"  '  I  don't  know  about  that,'  says  he.  '  Brother 
Fox  has  been  mighty  neighborly.  He  has  lost 
sleep  on  my  account,  and  he  has  told  me  a  great 
many  things  that  I  did  n't  know  before.' 

"  '  Likely  enough,'  says  I.  *  I  've  known  him 
to  tell  people  a  great  many  things  that  he  did  n't 
know  himself.  But  Brother  Fox,'  says  I,  '  was 
the  least  of  all  things  in  my  mind  when  I  found 
out  that  you  had  been  scalded  by  water  that  was 
not  more  than  milk-warm.  I  did  n't  need  to  be 
told  that  when  milk-warm  water  scalds  the  hair 
off  of  anybody,  something  else  is  the  matter  be 
side  the  scalding.' 

"  At  this  Brother  Lion  seemed  to  quiet  down  a 
little.  He  did  n't  talk  so  loud,  and  he  began  to 
show  the  whites  of  his  eyes. 

" '  Yes,'  says  I,  6  Brother  Fox  is  famous  for 
talking  behind  the  door,  but  I  've  noticed  that 
he  never  says  anything  nice  about  anybody.  You 
know  what  he 's  said  about  me,  but  do  you  know 


160  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

what  he  's  said  about  you  ?  Of  course  you  don't, 
and  I  'm  not  going  to  tell  you,  because  I  don't 
want  you  to  be  worried.' 

" £  But  I  'd  like  to  know/  says  Brother  Lion, 
says  he. 

" ( It  would  n't  do  you  any  good,'  says  I.  '  I 
could  have  come  here  and  jowered  and  made  a 
good  deal  of  trouble,  but  instead  of  that  I  knew 
of  an  old  friend  of  mine  who  knows  how  to  cure 
hot  burns  and  cold  burns,  and  so  I  've  been  off 
on  a  long  trip  to  see  the  witch  doctor,  old 
Mammy-Bammy  Big  Money.' 

"  '  And  did  you  see  her  ? '  says  Brother  Lion, 
says  he. 

"  '  I  most  certainly  did,'  says  I,  '  and  further 
more  I  laid  the  whole  case  before  her.  I  had  to 
travel  far  and  wide  to  find  her,  but  when  I  did 
find  her  I  asked  her  to  tell  me  what  was  good  for 
a  person  who  had  been  scalded  by  milk-warm 
water.  She  asked  me  three  times  the  name  of 
the  person,  and  three  times  I  told  her.  Then  she 
lit  a  pine  splinter,  blew  it  out,  and  watched  the 
smoke  scatter.  There  was  something  wrong,  for 
she  shook  her  head  three  times.' 

"  '  What  did  Mammy-Bammy  Big  Money  say  ? ' 


BROTHER  LION  HAS  A  SPELL  OF  SICKNESS.  161 

says  Brother  Lion,  says  he.  His  voice  sounded 
very  weak. 

" '  She  said  nothing/  says  I.  '  She  watched 
the  smoke  scatter,  and  then  she  put  her  hands  be 
fore  her  face  and  rocked  from  side  to  side.  After 
that  she  walked  back  and  forth,  and  when  she  sat 
down  again  she  took  off  her  left  slipper,  shook 
out  the  gravel,  and  counted  it  as  it  fell.  Once 
more  she  asked  me  the  name  of  the  person  who 
had  been  scalded  in  milk-warm  water,  and  once 
more  I  told  her.' 

"  '  Wait ! '  says  Brother  Lion,  says  he.  '  Do 
you  mean  to  tell  me  the  water  I  fell  in  was  only 
milk-warm  ? ' 

"  Says  I,  '  It  seemed  so  to  me.  I  had  just 
washed  my  face  and  hands  in  it.' 

"  <  Well,  well,  well ! '  says  Brother  Lion.  <  What 
else  did  she  say  ?  '  says  he. 

" '  I  don't  like  to  tell  you,'  says  I ;  and  just 
about  that  time  Brother  Fox  walked  in. 

" '  But  you  must  tell  me/  says  Brother  Lion, 
says  he. 

" '  Well/  says  I,  <  if  I  must  I  will,  but  I  don't 
like  to.  When  Mammy-Bammy  Big  Money  had 
counted  the  white  pebbles  that  fell  from  her  slip- 


162  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

per,  and  asked  me  the  name  of  the  person  who 
was  scalded  in  milk-warm  water,  she  told  me  that 
he  could  be  cured  by  poulticing  the  burns  with 
the  fresh  hide  of  his  best  friend.  I  asked  her  the 
name  of  this  friend,  but  she  shook  her  head  and 
said  she  would  call  no  names.  Then  she  said  that 
your  best  friend  had  short  ears,  a  sharp  nose,  keen 
eyes,  slim  legs,  and  a  bushy  tail.' 

"  Brother  Lion  shut  his  eyes  and  pretended  to 
be  thinking.  I  looked  at  Brother  Fox  as  solemnly 
as  I  knew  how,  and  shook  my  head  slowly. 
Brother  Fox  got  mighty  restless.  He  got  up  and 
walked  around. 

"  ( Well,  well,  well ! '  says  Brother  Lion,  says 
he.  ( That  might  mean  Brother  Wolf,  or  it 
might  mean  Brother  Fox/ 

" ( I  expect  it  means  Brother  Wolf/  says  Bro 
ther  Fox. 

"'Why,  you  don't  mean  to  stand  up  here  and 
say  right  before  Brother  Lion's  face  and  eyes  that 
Brother  Wolf  is  a  better  friend  to  him  than  you 
are  ! '  says  I. 

"  Brother  Fox's  mouth  fell  open  and  his  tongue 
hung  out,  and  just  about  that  time  I  made  my 
best  bow,  and  put  out  for  home." 


BROTHER  LION  HAS  A  SPELL  OF  SICKNESS.    163 

"But  did  Brother  Lion  try  the  remedy?"  Bus 
ter  John  inquired,  as  Mr.  Rabbit  paused  and 
began  to  light  his  pipe. 

"  I  think  Brother  Lion  caught  him  and  skinned 
him.  It's  a  great  pity  if  he  didn't.  But  I'll 
not  be  certain.  So  many  things  have  happened 
since  then  that  I  disremember  about  the  hide 
business.  But  you  may  be  sure  Brother  Lion 
was  very  superstitious.  My  best  opinion  is  that 
he  tried  the  cure." 


XV. 

A    MOUNTAIN    OF    GOLD. 

"THAT  is  a  funny  name  for  a  witch/'  said  Bus 
ter  John,  as  Rabbit  paused  and  began  to  nod. 

"  Which  name  was  that  ? "  inquired  Mr. 
Thimblefinger. 

"Why,  Mammy-Bammy  Big  Money,"  replied 
Buster  John,  elevating  his  voice  a  little. 

"  Well,  it 's  very  simple,"  remarked  Mr. 
Thimblefinger.  "'Mammy-Bammy'  was  to  catch 
the  ear  of  the  animals,  and  ' Big-Money'  was  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  people." 

"Dat's  so,"  said  Drusilla.  "Kaze  time  you  say 
' money'  folks  '11  stop  der  work  an'  lissen  at  you; 
an'  ef  you  say  ( Big-Money'  dey'll  ax  you  ter  say 
it  agin'." 

"It's  very  curious  about  money,"  continued 
Mr.  Thimblefinger.  "  I  don't  know  whether  you 
ever  thought  about  it  much — and  I  hope  you 
have  n't — but  it  has  pestered  me  a  good  deal, 
this  thing  you  call  money." 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD.  165 

"It's  mighty  bothersome,"  assented  Mrs.  Mea 
dows,  "when  you  are  where  people  use  it,  and 
when  you  have  none  except  what  you  can  beg  or 
borrow.  Thank  goodness !  I  'm  free  from  all 
bother  now." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "I  don't  see 
that  people  have  much  the  advantage  of  the  ani 
mals  when  it  comes  to  using  money.  I've  seen 
grown  people  work  night  and  day  for  a  few  pieces 
of  metal." 

"  Why,  of  course  ! "  cried  Buster  John.  "  They 
can  take  the  pieces  of  metal  and  buy  bread  and 
meat  to  eat  and  clothes  to  wear." 

"So  much  the  more  wonderful!"  remarked  Mr. 
Thimblefinger.  "What  do  the  people  who  have 
more  bread  and  meat  and  clothes  than  they  can 
use  want  with  the  pieces  of  metal?" 

"  So  they  may  buy  something  else  that  they 
have  n't  got,"  said  Buster  John. 

But  Mr.  Thimblefinger  shook  his  head.  He 
was  not  satisfied. 

"It  puts  me  in  mind  of  a  tale  I  heard  once 
about  a  poor  man  who  was  the  richest  person  in 
the  world." 

"But  that  couldn't  be,  you  know,"  protested 
Buster  John. 


166  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  Any  how,  that's  the  way  it  seemed  to  me  in 
the  story,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger.  "But  the 
story  is  so  old-fashioned  it  would  hardly  pass  mus 
ter  now.  Besides,  they  tell  me  that,  as  there's  not 
enough  metal  to  go  round,  people  have  begun  to 
make  up  their  minds  that  pieces  of  paper  with 
pictures  on  them  are  just  as  good  as  the  metal, 
and  perhaps  better.  It 's  mighty  funny  to  me." 

"What  was  the  story?"  asked  Sweetest  Susan. 
"Please  tell  us  about  it." 

"  Why,  yes,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit,  "  tell  us 
about  it.  If  calamus  root  passes  current  with 
some  of  my  acquaintances  and  catnip  with  others, 
I  see  no  reason  why  people  should  n't  play  make- 
believe  among  themselves,  and  say  that  pieces  of 
metal  and  pieces  of  paper  are  worth  something. 
In  this  business  people  have  a  great  advantage 
over  us.  They  can  put  figures  on  their  pieces  of 
metal  and  paper  and  make  them  worth  anything, 
but  with  us  a  joint  of  calamus  root  is  worth  just 
so  much.  It  has  been  worth  that  since  the  year 
one,  and  it  will  be  worth  that  right  on  to  the  end 
of  things.  Just  so  with  a  twist  of  catnip.  But  tell 
us  the  story — tell  us  the  story.  I  may  drop  off 
to  sleep,  but  if  I  do,  that  will  be  no  sign  that  the 
tale  is  n't  interesting." 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD.  167 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "once  upon 
a  time  there  was  a  country  in  which  money  be 
came  very  scarce.  The  people  had  a  great  deal, 
but  they  hid  it  in  their  stockings  and  in  the  chinks 
of  the  chimneys  and  in  their  teapots.  The  reason 
of  this  was  that  other  countries  close  at  hand 
made  their  money  out  of  the  same  kind  of  metal, 
and  they'd  bring  their  goods  in  and  sell  them 
and  carry  the  money  off  home  with  them. 

"Of  course  this  helped  to  make  money  scarce, 
and  the  scarcer  it  was  the  more  the  people  clung 
to  it,  and  this  made  it  still  scarcer.  Naturally 
everybody  kept  an  eye  out  in  the  hope  of  finding 
a  supply  of  this  metal." 

"What  sort  of  metal  was  it?"  asked  Buster 
John. 

"Gold,"  replied  Mr.  Thimblefinger. 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  Buster  John,  in  a  disap 
pointed  tone. 

"Yes,"  continued  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "nothing 
in  the  world  but  gold.  Those  who  had  money 
held  on  to  it  as  long  as  they  could,  because  they 
did  n't  know  how  much  scarcer  it  would  be,  and 
those  who  did  n't  have  any  were  willing  to  sell 
whatever  they  had  for  any  price  in  order  to  get 
some. 


168  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"It  was  lots  worse  than  playing  dolls  —  lots 
worse.  When  children  play  make-believe  with 
dolls,  they  soon  forget  about  it;  but  when  grown 
people  begin  to  play  make-believe  with  money, 
they  never  get  over  it.  The  wisest  men  get  their 
heads  turned  when  they  begin  to  think  and  talk 
about  money.  They  have  forgotten  that  it  was 
all  a  make-believe  in  the  beginning." 

Here  Mr.  Rabbit  yawned  and  said :  "  You  '11 
have  to  excuse  me  if  I  nod  a  little  here." 

"Yes,"  remarked  Mrs.  Meadows,  "I  feel  a 
little  sleepy  myself,  but  I  '11  try  to  keep  awake  for 
the  sake  of  appearances." 

"  Don't  mind  me,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger, 
with  mock  politeness.  "  Go  to  sleep  if  you  want 
to,  you  two.  I  won't  have  to  talk  so  loud. 

"  Well,  in  this  country  I  was  telling  you  about, 
there  was  a  young  man  who  had  saved  some 
money  by  working  hard,  but  he  did  n't  save  it 
fast  enough  to  suit  himself.  He  thought  so  much 
about  it  that  he  would  stop  in  the  middle  of  his 
work,  and  sit  and  study  about  it  an  hour  at  a 
time. 

"  He  thought  about  it  so  much  that  he  began 
to  dream  about  it,  and  one  night  he  dreamed  that 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD.  169 

he  got  in  a  boat  and  went  to  an  island  on  which 
there  was  a  mountain  of  gold  that  shone  and 
glistened  in  the  sun.  He  was  very  unhappy 
when  he  woke  in  the  morning  and  found  it  was 
nothing  but  a  dream. 

"  He  did  n't  go  to  work  that  day,  but  wandered 
about  doing  nothing.  That  night  he  had  the 
same  dream.  He  had  the  same  dream  the  next 
night ;  and  the  morning  after,  the  first  person  he 
saw  was  an  old  man  who  had  stopped  to  rest  on 
the  doorsteps.  This  old  man  would  have  been 
like  other  old  men  but  for  one  thing.  His  beard 
was  so  long  that  he  had  to  part  it  in  the  middle 
of  his  chin,  pass  it  under  each  arm,  cross  the 
wisps  on  his  back,  and  bring  them  around  in  front 
again,  where  the  two  ends  were  tied  together  with 
a  bow  of  red  ribbon. 

"  '  How  are  you,  my  young  friend,  and  how 
goes  it  ? '  said  the  old  man,  smiling  pleasantly. 
6  You  look  as  if  you  had  been  having  wonderful 
dreams/ 

" '  So  I  have,  gran'sir/  replied  the  young 
man. 

" '  Well,  a  dream  is  n't  worth  a  snap  of  your 
finger  unless  it  comes  true,  and  a  dream  never 


170  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

comes  true  until  you  have  dreamed  it  three 
times/ 

"  '  I  have  dreamed  mine  three  times,  gran' sir, 
and  yet  it  is  impossible  that  it  should  come  true/ 

"  '  Nonsense  !  Nothing  is  impossible.  Tell  me 
your  dream.' 

"  So  the  young  man  told  the  old  man  his 
dream. 

"' The  Island  of  the  Mountain  of  Gold!'  ex 
claimed  the  old  man.  '  Why,  that  is  right  in  my 
line  of  travel.  I  can  land  you  there  without  any 
trouble.  It  is  a  little  out  of  my  way,  but  not 
much.' 

"'How  shall  we  get  there?'  the  young  man 
asked. 

"  '  On  the  other  side  of  the  town,  I  have  a 
boat,'  replied  the  old  man.  '  You  are  welcome  to 
go  with  me.  It  is  so  seldom  that  dreams  come 
true  that  I  shall  be  glad  to  help  this  one  along  as 
well  as  I  can.  Besides,  I  have  long  wanted  an 
excuse  to  visit  the  Island  of  the  Mountain  of 
Gold.  I  have  passed  within  sight  of  it  hundreds 
of  times,  but  have  always  been  too  busy  to  land 
there.' 

"  The  young  man  looked  at  the  old  man  with 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD.  171 

astonishment.  If  he  had  spoken  his  thoughts  he 
would  have  declared  the  old  man  to  be  crazy,  but 
he  said  nothing.  He  simply  followed  after  him. 
The  old  man  led  the  way  across  the  town  to  a 
wharf,  where  his  boat  was  tied.  It  was  a  light 
little  skiff  that  could  be  sailed  by  one  man.  In 
this  the  two  embarked. 

"  The  old  man  managed  the  sail  with  one  hand 
and  the  rudder  with  the  other,  and  he  had  hardly 
made  things  ready  and  taken  his  seat  before  a 
light  breeze  sprang  up  and  filled  the  sail.  The 
skiff  glided  along  the  water  so  easily  that  the 
shore  seemed  to  be  receding  while  the  boat  stood 
still.  But  the  breeze  grew  stronger  and  stronger, 
and  the  sail  bore  so  heavily  on  the  nose  of  the 
boat  that  the  foam  and  spray  flew  high  in  the  air. 

"  The  sun  was  bright  and  the  sky  was  blue, 
and  the  dark  green  water  seemed  to  boil  beneath 
them,  so  swiftly  the  light  boat  sped  along.  The 
young  man  clapped  his  hands  as  joyously  as  a 
boy,  and  the  old  man  smiled.  Presently  he 
leaned  over  the  side  of  the  boat  and  pointed  to 
something  shining  and  sparkling  in  the  distance. 
The  young  man  saw  it,  too,  and  turned  an  inquir 
ing  eye  upon  his  companion. 


172  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  That  is  your  mountain  of  gold/  said  the  old 
man. 

" '  It  seems  to  be  very  small/  said  the  other. 
He  ceased  to  smile,  and  a  frown  clouded  his  face. 

"  The  old  man  noticed  the  frown,  and  shook 
his  head  and  frowned  a  little  himself,  coughing  in 
the  muffler  that  was  tied  around  his  neck.  But 
he  said :  — 

"  '  The  mountain  of  gold  is  more  than  twenty 
miles  away.' 

"  '  How  far  have  we  come  ? ' 

"  '  Some  hundred  and  odd  miles/ 

"  The  young  man  seemed  to  be  very  much  sur 
prised,  but  he  said  nothing.  He  leaned  so  far 
over  the  side  of  the  boat  to  watch  the  mountain 
of  gold  that  he  was  in  danger  of  falling  out. 
The  old  man  kept  an  eye  on  him,  but  did  not  lift 
a  finger  to  warn  him. 

"  In  due  time  they  came  to  the  island,  if  it 
could  be  called  an  island.  It  seemed  to  be  a  bar 
ren  rock  that  had  lifted  itself  out  of  the  sea  to 
show  the  mountain  of  gold.  The  mountain  was 
only  a  hill,  but  it  was  a  pretty  high  one,  consider 
ing  it  was  of  solid  gold." 

"  Sure  enough  gold  ?"  asked  Sweetest  Susan. 


A   MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD.  173 

"Pure  gold,"  answered  Mr.  Thimblefinger. 
"The  old  man  landed  his  skiff  at  a  convenient 
place,  and  the  two  got  out  and  went  to  the  moun 
tain,  or  hill,  of  gold  that  rose  shining  in  the 

'  '  O  O 

middle  of  the  small  island.  The  actions  of  the 
young  man  showed  that  he  considered  himself 
the  proprietor  of  both  island  and  mountain.  He 
broke  off  a  chunk  of  gold  as  big  as  your  fist, 
weighed  it  in  his  hand,  and  would  have  given  it 
to  the  old  man,  but  the.  latter  shook  his  head. 

"  '  You  refuse  it  ? '  cried  the  other.  '  If  it  is 
not  enough  I  '11  give  you  as  much  more.' 

"  '  No,'  replied  the  old  man.  'Keep  it  for  your 
self.  You  owe  me  nothing.  I  could  have  carried 
away  tons  of  the  stuff  long  before  I  saw  you,  but 
I  had  no  use  for  it.  You  are  welcome  to  as  much 
as  you  can  take  away  with  you.' 

"  '  As  much  as  I  can  take  away ! '  exclaimed 
the  other.  '  I  shall  take  it  all.' 

"'  But  how?' 

"  '  It  is  mine  !  I  am  rich.  I  will  buy  me  a 
ship.'  He  walked  back  and  forth,  rubbing  his 
hands  together. 

o 

" '  Then  you  have  no  further  need  of  me  ? ' 
said  the  old  man. 


174  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

" '  Not  now  —  not  now/  replied  the  other  with 
a  grand  air.  6  You  won't  accept  pay  for  your 
services,  and  I  can  do  no  more  than  thank  you.' 

"  The  old  man  bowed  politely,  got  in  his  skiff, 
and  sailed  away.  The  other  continued  to  walk 
ahout  the  island  and  rub  his  hands  together,  and 
make  his  plans.  He  was  now  the  richest  man  in 
the  world.  He  could  buy  kings  and  princes  and 
empires.  He  had  enough  gold  to  buy  all  the 
ships  on  the  sea  and  to  Control  all  the  trade  on 
the  land.  He  was  great.  He  was  powerful. 

"  All  these  thoughts  passed  through  his  mind 
and  he  was  very  happy.  The  sun  looked  at  the 
young  man  a  long  time,  and  then  went  to  bed  in 
the  sea.  Two  little  gray  lizards  looked  at  him 
until  the  sun  went  down,  and  then  they  crawled 
back  in  their  holes.  A  big  black  bird  sailed 
round  and  round  and  watched  him  until  nearly 
dark,  and  then  sailed  away. 

"  When  night  came  the  young  man  found  the 
air  damp  and  chilly,  but  he  knew  he  was  rich,  and 
so  he  laughed  at  the  cold.  He  crept  close  under 
his  mountain  of  gold,  and,  after  a  long  time,  went 
to  sleep.  In  the  morning  he  awoke  and  found 
that  nobody  had  taken  away  his  precious  rnoun- 


HE   WAS    SO   WEAK   THAT   HE   COULD  N'T   GET   UP 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD.  175 

tain  of  gold  during  the  night.  The  sun  rose  to 
keep  him  company,  the  two  gray  lizards  crept  out 
of  their  holes  and  looked  at  him,  and  the  big 

'  O 

black  bird  sailed  round  and  round  overhead. 

"  The  day  passed,  and  then  another  and  an 
other.  The  young  man  was  hungry  and  thirsty, 
but  he  was  rich.  The  night  winds  chilled  him, 
but  he  was  rich.  The  midday  sun  scorched  him, 
but  he  was  the  richest  man  in  the  world.  Every 
night,  no  matter  how  hungry  or  weak  he  was,  he 
crept  upon  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  stretched 
himself  out,  and  tried  to  hug  it  to  his  bosom. 
He  knew  that  if  he  was  hungry,  it  was  n't  be 
cause  he  was  poor,  and  if  he  died,  he  knew  he 
would  die  rich.  So  there  he  was." 

"What  then?"  asked  Buster  John,  as  Mr. 
Thimblefmger  paused  to  look  at  his  watch. 

"  Well,  I  '11  tell  you,"  continued  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger,  holding  the  watch  to  his  ear.  "  One  fine 

O          '  C? 

morning  this  rich  young  man  was  so  weak  that 
he  could  n't  get  up.  He  tried  to,  but  his  foot 
slipped,  and  he  rolled  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
of  gold  and  lay  there.  He  lay  there  so  long  and 
so  quietly  that  the  two  gray  lizards  crept  close  to 
him  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  He  moved  one 


176  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

of  his  fingers,  and  they  darted  back  to  their 
holes. 

"  The  rich  young  man  lay  so  still  that  the  big 
black  bird,  sailing  overhead,  came  nearer  and 
nearer,  and  finally  alighted  at  a  respectful  dis 
tance  from  the  rich  young  man.  The  two  gray 
lizards  came  out  again,  and  crawled  cautiously  to 
ward  the  rich  young  man.  The  big  black  bird 
craned  his  neck  and  looked,  and  then  went  a 
little  closer.  A  sudden  gust  of  wind  caused  the 
rich  young  man's  coat  to  flap.  The  gray  lizards 
scrambled  towards  their  holes,  and  the  big  black 
bird  jumped  up  in  the  air  and  flew  off  a  little 
way. 

66  But  presently  they  all  came  back,  bird  and 
lizards,  and  this  time  they  went  still  closer  to  the 
rich  young  man.  The  big  black  bird  went  so 
close  that  there  is  no  telling  what  he  would  have 
done  next,  but  just  then  the  old  man  came  run 
ning  towards  them.  He  had  untied  the  two  ends 

o 

of  his  beard,  and  was  waving  them  in  the  air  as  if 
they  were  flags.  The  big  black  bird  flew  away 
very  angry,  and  the  gray  lizards  ran  over  each 
other  trying  to  get  to  their  holes. 

"  The  old  man^  tied  up  his  beard  again,  took  up 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GOLD.  177 

the  rich  young  man  on  his  shoulder,  and  carried 
him  to  the  boat.  Once  there  he  gave  the  rich 
young  man  some  wine.  This  revived  him,  and  in 
a  little  while  he  was  able  to  eat.  But  he  had  no 
opportunity  to  talk.  The  wind  whirled  the  boat 
through  the  water,  and  in  a  few  hours  it  had 
arrived  at  the  young  man's  town. 

"  He  went  home,  and  soon  recovered  in  more 
ways  than  one.  He  found  his  strength  again, 
and  lost  his  appetite  for  riches.  But  he  worked 
hard,  saved  all  he  could,  and  was  soon  prosperous ; 
but  he  never  remembered  without  a  shiver  the 
time  that  he  was  the  richest  man  in  the  world." 


XVI. 

AN    OLD-FASHIONED    FUSS. 

"  I  DON'T  blame  'im  fer  shivering"  said  Brasilia  ; 
"  but,  I  let  you  know,  here 's  what  would  n't 
shiver  none  ef  she  had  dat  ar  big  pile  er  gol' 
what  de  man  had.  I  'd  'a'  cotch  me  some  fish  ; 
I  'd  'a'  gobbled  up  dem  lizards,  yit !  " 

"Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Eabbit,  "I  expect 
money  is  a  pretty  big  thing.  I  've  heard  a  heap 
of  talk  about  it,  and  I  've  known  some  big  fusses 
to  grow  out  of  it.  And  yet  money  does  n't  cause 
all  the  fusses  —  oh,  no  !  not  by  a  long  jump.  I 
once  heard  of  a  fuss  that  happened  long  before 
there  was  any  money,  and  the  curious  part  about 
it  was  that  nobody  knew  what  the  fuss  grew  out 
of." 

"What  fuss  was  that?"  asked  Buster  John, 
who  thought  that  perhaps  there  might  be  a  story 
in  it. 

"  Why,  it  was  the  quarrel  between  the  Monkeys 
and  the  Dogs.  My  great-grandfather  knew  all 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  FUSS.  179 

about  the  facts,  and  I  've  heard  him  talk  it  over 
many  a  time  when  he  was  sitting  in  the  kitchen 
corner  chewing  his  quid.  I  Ve  often  heard  him 
wonder,  between  naps,  what  caused  the  dispute." 

"  It  seems  to  me  I  ?ve  heard  something  about 
it,"  remarked  Mrs.  Meadows  in  an  encouraging 
tone. 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Rabbit.  "  It  was 
notorious  in  our  young  days.  I  reckon  it  has 
been  settled  long  before  this;  anyhow,  I  hope  so." 

"What  did  your  great-grandfather  say  about 
it?"  inquired  Buster  John. 

"  If  I  were  to  tell  you  all  he  said,"  responded 
Mr.  Rabbit,  shaking  his  head  slowly,  "  you  'd 
have  to  sit  here  with  me  for  a  fortnight,  and  of 
course  you  would  n't  like  to  do  that.  So  I'll 
just  up  and  tell  you  about  it  in  my  own  way.  I 
may  not  get  it  exactly  right,  but  I  '11  be  bound 
I  won't  get  it  far  wrong,  for  I  have  nothing  else 
in  the  round  world  to  do  but  to  sit  here  and  think 
about  old  times. 

66  As  well  as  I  can  remember,  the  way  of  it 
was  about  this  :  Away  back  yonder,  in  the  times 
before  everybody  had  got  to  be  so  busy  trying  to 
get  the  best  of  each  other,  a  coolness  sprang  up 


180  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

between  the  Monkeys  and  the  Dogs.  Nobody 
knew  the  right  of  it,  because  nobody  paid  any 
attention  to  it  along"  at  first.  But  after  awhile 

o 

it  got  so  that  every  time  a  Dog  would  meet  a 
Monkey  in  the  road,  the  Monkey  would  get  up  in 
a  tree  and  laugh  at  him,  and  then  the  Dog  would 
stop  and  scratch  up  the  dirt  with  all  four  of  his 
feet  and  growl." 

"  Oh,  I  've  seen  them  do  that  way,"  said 
Sweetest  Susan,  laughing. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  with  a  more  solemn 
air  than  ever.  "  They  have  never  got  out  of  the 
habit  of  that  kind  of  caper  from  that  day  to  this. 
Well,  the  coolness  grew  into  a  dispute,  and  the 
dispute  into  a  quarrel,  and  so  there  it  was.  The 
Monkeys  would  make  faces  and  squeal  at  the 
Dogs,  and  the  Dogs  would  show  their  teeth  and 
growl  at  the  Monkeys.  It  went  from  bad  to 
worse,  and  after  awhile,  the  Dogs  would  chase 
the  Monkeys  wherever  they  saw  them,  and  the 
Monkeys  would  swing  down  from  the  hanging 
limbs  and  give  the  tails  of  the  Dogs  some  terrible 
twists. 

"  Before  that  time  the  Monkeys  had  been  liv 
ing  on  the  ground  just  like  everybody  else  lived, 


THE   MONKEYS  WOULD   MAKE    FACES   AND   SQUEAL  AT  THE 
DOGS 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  FUSS.  181 

but  the  Dogs  had  such  sharp  teeth  and  such 
nimble  feet  that  the  Monkeys  had  to  take  to  the 
trees  and  saplings.  At  first  they  could  n't  get 
about  in  the  trees  as  they  do  now.  Sometimes 
they  'd  miss  their  footing,  or  lose  their  grip,  and 
down  they  'd  come  right  into  the  red  jaws  of  the 
Dogs. 

"  Now  this  was  n't  pleasant  at  all.  Even  when 
the  Monkeys  did  n't  fall,  the  ants  and  crawling 
bugs  would  get  on  them,  and  the  dead  limbs  of 
the  trees  would  fall  and  hurt  them,  and  the  wind 
would  blow  them  about,  and  the  heavy  rains 
would  fall  and  wet  them. 

"  About  that  time  the  Monkeys  were  the  most 
miserable  creatures  in  the  world.  They  were  so 
miserable  that,  finally,  the  Head  Monkey  made 
up  his  mind  to  go  and  see  the  Wise  Man  who 
used  to  settle  all  disputes  as  far  as  he  could.  So 
the  Head  Monkey  set  out  on  his  journey,  and 
traveled  till  he  came  to  the  Wise  Man's  house. 

"  He  got  on  the  gatepost,  and  looked  all  around, 
to  see  if  there  was  a  Dog  anywhere  in  sight. 
Seeing  none,  he  went  to  the  front  door  and 
knocked.  The  Wise  Man  came  out.  He  was 
very  old.  He  had  a  beard  as  long  as  Brother 


182  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Billy  Goat's,  and  as  gray,  but  he  was  very  nice 
and  kind.  The  Head  Monkey  told  his  story  all 
the  way  through,  and  the  Wise  Man  sat  and 
listened  to  every  word.  When  he  had  heard  it 
all,  he  shut  his  eyes  and  studied  the  matter  over, 
and  then  he  said  :  — 

" '  Only  fools  get  up  fusses  that  they  can't 
settle.  I  '11  give  you  a  fool's  remedy  to  settle  a 
fool's  fuss.  Go  back  to  your  own  country  and 
fetch  me  a  bunch  of  the  hair  of  a  Brindle  Dog. 
Then  I  '11  show  you  a  cheap  and  an  easy  way  to 
get  rid  of  the  whole  tribe  of  Dogs.  But  be  sure 
that  you  make  no  mistake.  I  must  have  the  hair 
of  a  Brindle  Dog — just  that  and  nothing  else. 
Then  I  can  show  you  how  to  get  rid  of  all  the 
Dogs.  But  if  you  make  any  mistake,  you  will 
ruin  the  whole  tribe  of  Monkeys.' 

"  The  Head  Monkey  scratched  himself  on  the 
side,  quick  like.  Says  he,  '  Oh,  I  '11  make  no 
mistake.  Don't  worry  about  me.  The  first  time 
the  Dogs  have  a  burying  I  '11  get  on  a  swinging 
limb,  and  when  a  Brindle  Dog  comes  along  I  '11 
reach  down  and  pull  a  bunch  of  hair  out  of  his 
hide,  and  by  the  time  he  gets  through  howling 
I  '11  be  on  my  journey  back.' 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  FUSS.  183 

"  The  Wise  Man  ran  his  fingers  through  his 
beard,  and  laughed  to  himself.  Says  he,  (  Very 
well,  my  young  friend,  but  you  had  best  be  care 
ful.  A  Dog  of  any  kind  will  bear  watching,  but 
especially  a  Brindle  Dog.' 

"  The  Head  Monkey  made  no  answer.  He 
simply  grinned,  and  started  back  home.  Now,  it 
happened  that  after  his  journey  was  over,  the 
Dogs  had  no  burying  for  a  long  time.  They 
seemed  to  be  in  better  health  than  ever.  Some 
traveling  doctor  had  come  along  and  told  them 
that  whenever  they  felt  out  of  sorts  they  must  go 
out  in  the  fields  and  hunt  for  a  particular  kind  of 
grass.  When  they  found  it  they  were  to  eat 
twenty-seven  blades  of  it,  and  then  go  on  about 
their  business.  You  may  not  believe  this,"  said 
Mr.  Rabbit,  pausing  in  the  midst  of  his  story, 
"  but  if  you  will  watch  the  Dogs  right  close,  you 
will  find  that  to  this  day  they  '11  go  out  and  eat 
grass  whenever  they  are  ailing.  They  don't 
chew  it.  They  just  bite  off  a  great  long  sprig 
of  it,  and  wallop  it  around  their  tongues  and 
swallow  it  whole.  I  don't  know  how  they  do  it, 
but  I  'm  telling  you  the  plain  facts. 

66  Well,   as  I   was   saying,  it  was  a  long  time 


184  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

after  the  Head  Monkey  got  home  before  the 
Dogs  had  a  burying,  and  when  they  did  have  one 
it  happened  that  there  was  no  Brindle  Dog  in  the 
procession.  The  rest  of  the  Monkeys  were  all 
waiting  to  see  what  the  Head  Monkey  was  going 
to  do,  and  so  they  forgot  to  bother  the  Dogs. 
When  the  Dogs  saw  that  the  Monkeys  were  quiet, 
they  kept  quiet  themselves,  and  there  was  no 
trouble  between  them  for  a  long  time.  Seeing 
that  the  Dogs  were  no  longer  snapping  and  snarl 
ing  at  them,  some  of  the  older  Monkeys  began 
to  travel  on  the  ground  again,  but  the  younger 
ones  stayed  in  the  trees  where  they  were  born. 

"  The  Head  Monkey  was  mighty  restless. 
Sometimes  he  'd  stay  in  the  trees,  and  then  again 
he  'd  travel  on  the  ground,  but  wherever  he  was 
he  always  kept  his  eye  out  for  a  Brindle  Dog. 
Finally,  one  day,  when  he  was  traveling  on  the 
ground,  he  heard  a  noise  up  the  road,  and  when 
he  turned  around  he  saw  a  big  Brindle  Dog  com 
ing1  towards  him.  He  thought  to  himself  that 

O  C? 

now  was  his  time  or  never ;  so  he  got  behind  a 

bush  and  waited  for  the  Brindle  Dog  to  come  up. 

"  He  did  n't  have  long  to  wait,  for  the  Brindle 

Dog  was  going  in  a  swinging  trot.     When  he 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  FUSS.  185 

came  by  the  bush,  the  Head  Monkey  rushed  out 
and  tried  to  pull  a  bunch  of  hair  from  the 
Brindle  Dog's  hide.  But  he  rushed  too  far. 
The  Brindle  Dog-  shied,  as  old  Mr.  Horse  used  to 
do  when  he  saw  a  bunch  of  shucks  in  the  road. 
He  shied  so  quick,  and  he  shied  so  far,  that  the 
Head  Monkey  fell  short  with  his  arm,  and  was 
carried  too  far  by  his  legs.  As  the  Brindle  Dog 
shied,  he  turned  and  saw  what  it  was,  and  then 
he  made  a  rush  for  the  Head  Monkey.  There 
was  no  tree  near,  and  no  way  for  the  Head  Mon 
key  to  escape.  The  Brindle  Dog  grabbed  him 
and  made  short  work  of  him.  There  was  con 
siderable  of  a  fight,  for  the  Head  Monkey  was 
strong  in  his  arms  and  quick  on  his  feet.  But 
the  Brindle  Dog  had  a  long  jaw  and  a  strong 
one.  He  grabbed  the  Head  Monkey  between 
shoulder  and  ham,  and  shook  him  up  as  you  have 
seen  people  shake  a  sifter.  He  just  held  on  and 
shook,  and  when  he  turned  loose  he  'd  shut  his 
teeth  down  in  a  new  place,  so  that  when  the  rip- 
pit  was  over,  it  seemed  as  if  there  was  n't  a  whole 
bone  in  the  Head  Monkey's  hide.  But  quick 
done  is  quick  over :  and  after  the  Brindle  Dog 
had  done  all  the  shaking  that  the  case  called  for, 


186  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

he  dropped  the  Head  Monkey  and  went  on  about 
his  business;  but  he  had  some  bites  and  scratches 
on  his  hide,  and  as  he  trotted  off  he  shook  his 
ears,  for  one  of  them  had  been  split  mighty  nigh 
in  two  by  the  Head  Monkey. 

"Well,  after  the  Brindle  Dog  had  trotted  off, 
the  Head  Monkey  rose  from  the  ground  and  be 
gan  to  feel  of  himself.  He  was  afraid  that  he 
had  been  torn  in  two  and  scattered  all  over  the 
road,  but  when  he  found  that  he  had  his  legs 
and  his  arms  and  his  head  and  his  body,  he  began 
to  be  more  cheerful.  He  found  he  could  walk. 
And  then  he  found  he  could  use  his  hands,  and 
then  he  strutted  around,  and  said  to  himself  that 
he  had  whipped  the  fight.  He  was  badly  bruised 
and  pretty  sore,  but  he  was  not  too  sore  to  strut, 
and  so  he  walked  up  and  down  the  road  and 
made  his  brags  that  he  had  compelled  the  Brindle 
Dog  to  take  tQ  his  heels. 

"  Then  he  happened  to  think  what  he  had 
come  for,  and  he  hunted  all  about  in  the  road  to 
see  if  he  could  find  a  bunch  of  the  Brindle 
Dog's  hair.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  hair  scat 
tered  around,  and  in  a  little  while  the  Head 
Monkey  had  gathered  up  a  handful.  He  picked 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  FUSS.  187 

it  over  and  sorted  it  out,  and  wrapped  it  up  in  a 
poplar  leaf.  Then  he  went  home  to  his  family 
and  rested  a  day  or  two,  for  he  was  pretty  badly 
bruised.  And  he  told  a  big  tale  of  how  he  had 
met  the  great  Brindle  Dog  in  the  road,  and  had 
fanned  him  out  in  a  fair  fight.  His  children 
listened  with  all  their  ears,  and  then  they  jumped 
from  limb  to  limb  and  told  all  the  neighbors' 
children  that  their  pa  was  the  biggest  and  the 
best  of  all  the  Monkeys. 

"  This  went  on  for  some  time,  and  finally  the 
Head  Monkey  felt  well  enough  to  visit  the  Wise 
Man.  So  he  started  on  the  journey,  and  after 
awhile  he  got  there.  He  climbed  the  gatepost 
a^ain,  and  looked  all  around  to  see  if  there  was  a 

o         ~ 

Brindle  Dog  in  sight.  Seeing  none,  he  went  to 
the  door  and  knocked,  and  the  Wise  Man  came 
out. 

" ' Good-morning/  says  the  Wise  Man.  'I 
hope  you  are  well.' 

"  '  Tolerably  well,  I  thank  you,'  says  the  Head 
Monkey.  i  And  I  've  come  agreeable  to  promise 
to  bring  you  a  bunch  of  the  hair  of  a  Brindle 
Dog.' 

With  that   he  unrolled  the  poplar  leaf,  and 


b 

.. 


188  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

showed  the  Wise  Man  the  hair  he  had  picked  up 
in  the  road.  The  Wise  Man  took  the  bunch  of 
hair  and  turned  it  over  in  his  hand,  and  looked 
at  it.  Then  he  looked  at  the  Head  Monkey. 

"  '  What  is  this?'  says  he. 

"  '  A  bunch  of  hair  from  a  Brindle  Dog','  says 
the  Head  Monkey. 

"  The  Wise  Man  shook  his  head.  Says  he,  '  It 
may  be,  but  it  does  n't  look  like  the  samples  I 
have  seen.  Are  you  sure  about  it  ?'  says  he. 

"  '  As  sure  as  I  am  standing  here,'  says  the  Head 
Monkey. 

"Says  the  Wise  Man,  'It's  none  of  my  busi 
ness.  I  just  wanted  to  be  certain  about  it,  be 
cause  if  there  's  any  Monkey  hair  in  it,  everything 
will  go  wrong.  The  whole  tribe  of  Monkeys  will 
be  ruined.  They  will  have  to  leave  this  country 
and  the  Dogs  will  stay  here.  Did  you  have  any 
trouble  in  getting  this  hair?'  says  he. 

"  '  Well,'  says  the  Head  Monkey,  'there  was  a 
dispute,  nothing  serious.' 

"'How  long  did  the  dispute  last?'  says  the 
Wise  Man. 

"  '  No  longer  than  I  could  reach  out  and  get 
the  hair,'  says  the  Head  Monkey. 


AN  OLD-FASHIONED  FUSS.  189 

"  'That's  funny/  says  the  Wise  Man.  'When 
the  Brindle  Dog  gets  into  a  dispute,  he  usually 
shows  his  teeth.' 

"  '  Oh,  he  showed  his  teeth,  and  he  had  more 
than  I  thought,'  says  the  Head  Monkey. 

"  'But  are  you  sure  this  hair  came  out  of  the 
hide  of  a  Brindle  Dog  ? '  says  the  Wise  Man. 

"  Says  the  Head  Monkey,  '  As  sure  as  I  'm 
standing  here.  I  pulled  it  out  with  my  own 
hands.' 

"Says  the  Wise  Man,  'It  looks  to  me  as  if 
there  were  some  other  kind  of  hair  in  this  bunch. 
Did  you  have  any  trouble  in  getting  it  ? '  says  he. 

"  '  Well,'  says  the  Head  Monkey,  '  we  had  a 
little  dispute.' 

"Says  the  Wise  Man,  'Was  that  all?' 

"  '  Well,'  says  the  Head  Monkey,  scratching 
himself,  '  we  passed  a  few  licks.' 

"  '  How  was  that  ?  '  says  the  Wise  Man. 

"  '  Well,'  says  the  Head  Monkey,  '  he  growled 
and  I  squealed,  and  then  he  bit  and  I  scratched.' 

"  '  I  see/  says  the  Wise  Man.     '  What  else  ? ' 

"  '  Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,'  says  the  Head 
Monkey,  6  there  was  right  smart  of  a  scuffle.' 

"  'Aha  ! '  says  the  Wise  Man.     'A  scuffle  ! ' 


190  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

" '  Yes/  says  the  Head  Monkey,  '  and  worse 
than  that.  There  was  a  regular  knock-do wn-and- 
drag-out  fight/  says  he. 

"'I  see/  says  the  Wise  Man.  'You  have 
brought  me  some  of  your  own  hair  instead  of 
the  Brindle  Dog's  hair,  and  now  you  and  your 
whole  tribe  will  have  to  leave  this  country  and 
cross  the  ocean ;  and  when  you  get  into  the  new 
country,  you  will  have  to  live  in  the  trees  to  keep 
the  four-footed  animals  from  destroying  you.' 

"And  so  it  happened,"  continued  Mr.  Rabbit. 
"  Since  that  time,  there  have  been  no  Monkeys  in 
this  country.  They  had  to  cross  the  big  water, 
and  when  they  got  over  there  they  had  to  live  in 
the  trees ;  and  I  expect  they  are  living  that  way 
yet  —  at  least,  they  were  at  last  accounts." 


XVII. 

THE  RABBIT  AND  THE  MOON. 

"I  RECKON  that's  so  about  the  Monkeys/'  re 
marked  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  They  used  to  be  in  the 
country  next  door,  and  now  they  are  no  longer 
there." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Kabbit;  "it's  just  like  I  tell 
you:  they  were  there  once,  but  now  they  are  not 
there  any  more.  But  in  the  world  next  door 
everybody  has  his  tips  and  downs,  especially  his 
downs.  I  've  heard  my  great-grandfather  tell 
many  a  time  how  our  family  used  to  live  close  to 
the  Moon.  So  I  don't  make  any  brags  about  the 
way  the  Monkeys  had  to  take  to  the  bushes.  I 
remember  about  my  own  family,  and  then  I  feel 
like  hanging  my  head  down  and  saying  nothing. 
It  is  a  very  funny  feeling,  too.  When  I  think  we 
used  to  live  close  to  the  Moon,  and  that  we  now 
live  on  the  ground  and  have  to  crawl  there  like 
snails,  I  sometimes  feel  like  crying;  and  I  tell 
you  right  now  if  I  was  to  begin  to  boohoo,  you'd 
be  astonished." 


192  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Buster  John  and  Sweetest  Susan  looked  very 
serious,  but  Drusilla  showed  a  desire  to  lau^h. 

7  O 

"  You  say  you  used  to  live  close  to  the  Moon?" 
asked  Buster  John,  with  more  curiosity  than 
usual. 

"Why,  certainly,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit.  "I 
don't  say  that  I  did,  but  I  'in  certain  that  my 
family  did.  I  've  heard  my  great-grandfather 
tell  about  it  a  hundred  times.  I  've  heard  that  it 
was  a  better  country  up  there  than  it  is  where 
you  live,  even  better  than  it  is  down  here,  —  a 
good  deal  more  fun  and  fiddling,  and  not  half 
so  much  looking  around  for  something  to  eat. 
That  is  the  great  trouble.  If  we  did  n't  have 
to  scuffle  around  and  get  something  to  eat,  we  'd 
be  lots  better  off. 

"  It  's  mighty  funny.  If  you  let  well  enough 
alone,  you  are  all  right;  but  the  minute  you  try 
to  better  it,  everything  goes  wrong." 

"Dat  wuz  de  way  wid  ol'  man  Adam,"  re 
marked  Drusilla. 

"Why,  of  course,"  said  Mr.  Eabbit,  "and  it 
was  the  way  with  all  the  Rabbits  and  everybody 
and  everything  else." 

"But   how   did    they    live   up    there    by   the 


THE  RABBIT  AND   THE  MOON.  193 

Moon  ?  "  asked  Sweetest  Susan.  "  How  did  they 
keep  from  falling  off?" 

Mr.  Rabbit  scratched  his  head  a  little  before 
replying1.  "Well/'  said  he,  after  awhile,  "they 
got  along  just  as  we  do  down  here, — heads  up 
and  feet  down.  But  one  time,  as  I  've  heard  my 
great-grandfather  say,  the  Moon  got  into  a  sort  of 
fidget,  and  was  mignty  restless  for  quite  a  while. 
At  last,  one  of  our  family,  the  oldest  of  all,  made 
bold  to  look  over  the  fence  and  ask  the  Moon 
what  the  trouble  was.  He  noticed,  too,  that  the 
Moon  had  shrunk  considerably,  and  seemed  to  be 
in  a  very  bad  way.  It  could  hardly  hold  up  its 
head. 

"But  the  Moon  managed  to  look  up  when  it 
heard  the  fuss  at  the  fence,  and,  in  a  very  shaky 
voice,  told  the  oldest  of  all  the  Rabbits  howdy. 

"  'What  is  the  trouble?'  says  the  oldest  Rab 
bit.  Says  he,  'Can  I  do  anything  to  help  you?' 

"  'I  'm  afraid  not,'  says  the  Moon.  '  You  are 
not  nimble  enough.' 

"  '  Maybe  I  'm  nimbler  than  you  think/  says 
the  oldest  Rabbit. 

"'Well/  says  the  Moon,  'I'll  tell  you  what 
the  trouble  is.  I  want  to  get  a  message  to  Mr. 


194  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Man,  who  lives  in  the  world  down  yonder.  I  've 
been  shining  on  him  at  night,  and  I  've  caught  a 
bad  cold  by  being  out  after  dark.  My  health  is 
breaking  down,  and  if  I  don't  put  out  my  lights 
for  a  while  and  take  a  rest,  I  '11  have  to  go 
out  altogether.  Now,  it 's  like  this  :  I  've  been 
shining  for  Mr.  Man  so  long1  that  if  I  don't  send 

o  O     w 

him  some  word  he  '11  think  something  serious  has 
happened.  I  must  take  a  rest,  but  I  want  to 
send  him  a  message,  telling  him  that  I  won't  be 
gone  long.' 

"  '  Well,'  says  the  oldest  Rabbit,  'I  don't  mind 
going,  if  you  '11  show  me  the  way  and  tell  me 
what  to  say.' 

"  So  the  Moon  pointed  out  the  way,  and  showed 
him  how  to  put  his  fingers  in  his  ears  and  hold 
his  breath  when  he  took  the  long  jump.  Then  it 
gave  him  this  message: — 

6 1  am  growing  weak  to  gather  strength: 
I  go  into  the  shadows  to  gather  light.' 

"  The  oldest  Rabbit  said  this  message  over  to 
himself  many  times,  and  then  he  got  ready  for 
the  journey.  Everything  went  well  until  he  came 
to  the  long  jump.  But  he  braced  himself,  and 
shut  his  eyes,  and  put  his  fingers  in  his  ears,  and 


WHAT    IS   THE   TROUBLE?''    SAYS   THE   OLDEST   RABBIT 


THE  RABBIT  AND   THE  MOON.  195 

held  his  breath.  Now,  the  jump  was  a  long  one, 
sure  enough.  It  was  so  long  that  the  oldest 

O  o 

Rabbit  opened  one  eye,  and  then  he  got  the  no 
tion  that  he  was  falling  instead  of  jumping,  and 
he  opened  both  eyes  so  wide  that  they  have  been 
that  way  ever  since.  This  scared  him  terribly, 
and  by  the  time  he  landed  on  the  world  he  had 
forgotten  what  he  came  for.  He  was  n't  hurt  a 
bit,  but  he  was  badly  scared. 

"  He  sat  on  the  ground  and  tried  to  remember, 
and  then  he  got  up  and  walked  about.  Finally, 
he  looked  up  and  saw  the  Moon  winking  one  eye 
at  him.  Then  he  thought  about  the  message, 
and  he  ran  off  to  Mr.  Man's  house,  and  knocked 
at  the  door.  Mr.  Man  had  gone  to  bed,  but  he 
got  up  and  opened  the  door,  and  asked  what  was 
wanted. 

"  '  Well,'  says   the  oldest    Rabbit,   '  I  've   just 
come  from  the  Moon  with  a  message  for  you.' 
"  '  What  is  it?'  says  Mr.  Man. 
"  '  The  Moon  told  me  to  tell  you  this  :  — 
'I'm  growing  weak  and  have  no  strength: 
I'm  going  off  where  the  shadoivs  are  dark.' 
"Mr.  Man  scratched   his  head.     He  could  n't 
make  the  message  out.     Then  he  said,  4  Take  this 
message  back :  — 


196  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

6  Seldom  seen  and  soon  forgot  : 

When  a  Moon  dies  her  feet  get  cold.9 
"  The  oldest  Rabbit  bowed  politely  and  started 
back  home.  He  came  to  the  Jumping-Off  Place, 
and  then  he  took  the  long  jump.  He  was  soon 
at  home,  and  went  at  once  to  the  Moon's  house, 
and  gave  the  message  that  Mr.  Man  had  sent. 
This  made  the  Moon  very  mad.  It  declared  that 
the  oldest  Rabbit  had  carried  the  wrong  message. 

O  O 

Then  it  grabbed  the  shovel  and  struck  him  in  the 
face.  This  made  the  oldest  Rabbit  very  mad,  and 
he  jumped  at  the  Moon  and  used  his  claws.  The 
fight  was  a  hard  one,  and  you  can  see  the  marks 
of  it  to  this  day.  All  the  Rabbits  have  their 
upper  lips  split,  and  the  Moon  still  has  the  marks 
on  its  face  where  the  oldest  Rabbit  clawed  it. 

"  The  way  of  it  was  this,"  continued  Mr.  Rab 
bit,  seeing  that  the  children  had  hardly  caught 
the  drift  of  the  story :  "  the  Moon  had  been 
shining  constantly  for  many  years,  and  was  grow 
ing  weak.  It  wanted  to  take  a  rest,  and  it  was 
afraid  Mr.  Man  would  get  scared  when  he  failed 
to  see  it  at  night.  Since  that  time  the  Moon  has 

o 

been  taking  a  rest  about  every  two  weeks.  At 
least  it  used  to  be  that  way.  I  never  bother 
about  it  now." 


XVIII. 

WHY    THE   BEAR    IS    A   WRESTLER. 


said  Mr.  Rabbit,  after  a  pause, 
"  what  about  the  story  ?  Was  there  any  moral 
to  it?" 

"None  at  all,"  replied  Mrs.  Meadows.  "It 
was  just  an  old-time  tale." 

"  Now,  I  'm  truly  glad  to  hear  you  say  so," 
cried  Mr.  Rabbit,  appearing  to  be  very  much 
pleased.  "  It  's  as  good  as  taking  a  nap."  He 
winked  gravely  at  Buster  John,  and  then  pro 
ceeded  to  refill  his  pipe. 

"  I  thought  it  was  a  pretty  good  story,"  said 
Buster  John.  "  It  turned  out  to  be  a  story  so 
quick  that  it  was  all  over  with  before  I  knew  it 
was  a  story." 

"  Well,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  "  I  had  to  tell  it 
mighty  quick.  Suppose  I  had  stopped  to  light 
my  pipe  and  left  my  own  kin  dangling  between 
the  Moon  and  the  World  !  I  knew  in  reason  it 
would  never  do,  and  so  I  rattled  away  almost  as 


198  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

fast  as  the  oldest  Rabbit  jumped.  It  was  a  long 
story  quickly  told  of  a  long  journey  quickly 
made." 

Mr.  Rabbit  seemed  to  be  in  better  humor  than 
ever.  He  leaned  back,  and  patted  the  ground 
softly  with  one  foot. 

"  Speaking  of  journeys,"  he  said,  after  awhile, 
"  makes  me  think  about  how  Brother  Bear  started 
out  in  the  world.  But  what  am  I  doing?"  he 
cried.  "  I  don't  want  to  do  all  the  talking.  I 

o 

don't  have  any  chance  to  sleep  unless  somebody 
else  is  telling  a  story." 

"  Now,  please  tell  us  the  story,"  pleaded  Sweet 
est  Susan. 

"  I  '11  have  to,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  "  since  I  've 
got  it  started.  Well,  one  time  when  Brother 
Bear  was  young,  the  time  came  for  him  to  scratch 
around  and  scuffle  for  himself.  He  had  already 
learned  how  to  grabble  for  sweet  potatoes,  how 
to  tote  an  armful  of  roasting  ears,  and  how  to 
shut  his  eyes  and  rob  a  bee-tree,  and  so  his  daddy 
thought  it  was  about  time  for  him  to  go  off  and 
earn  his  own  living.  Brother  Bear  said  he  was 
more  than  willing,  and  when  he  came  to  tell  his 
folks  good-by,  his  daddy  gave  him  seven  pieces 
of  honey-in-the-conib,  saying :  — 


WHY  THE  BEAR  IS  A    WRESTLER.          199 

"  ( This  is  all  I  have  to  give  you,  but  it 's 
enough.  Whoever  eats  this  honey  with  you  will 
have  to  wrestle  with  you  seven  years  or  give  you 
everything  he  owns.' 

"  So  Brother  Bear  put  his  seven  pieces  of 
honey-in-the-comb  in  a  bag,  slung  the  bag  over 
his  back,  and  went  shuffling  down  the  big  road. 
He  traveled  all  that  day,  and  camped  out  in  the 
woods  at  night.  The  next  morning,  just  as  he 
was  about  to  eat  breakfast,  he  heard  a  rustling 
in  the  bushes,  and  presently  Brother  Tiger  came 
slipping  and  sliding  along,  hunting  for  his  break 
fast.  Brother  Bear  howdied,  and  Brother  Tiger 
said  he  was  only  tolerable  —  not  as  peart  as  he 
might  be,  and  yet  pearter  than  he  had  been. 
Then  Brother  Tiger  sat  and  watched  Brother 
Bear  take  put  a  piece  of  his  honey-in-the-comb, 
and  the  sight  made  his  mouth  water.  Brother 
Bear  noticed  this,  and  he  says,  says  he :  — 

"  '  I  wish  you  mighty  well,  Brother  Tiger,  and 
I  'd  like  to  ask  you  to  have  some  of  my  break 
fast,  for  I  have  more  than  a  plenty  for  two.  But 
the  trouble  is,  that  whoever  eats  any  of  this  honey- 
in-the-comb  will  have  to  wrestle  with  me  seven 
years  or  give  me  all  his  belongings.' 


200  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

" '  Don't  let  that  bother  you/  says  Brother 
Tiger,  says  he.  '  I  'm  a  pretty  good  wrestler  my 
self,  and  I  don't  mind  trying  my  hand  with  you 
after  I  've  tasted  your  honey-in-the-comb.' 

"  But  Brother  Bear  hemmed  and  hawed,  and 
acted  so  that  Brother  Tiger  thought  he  was  either 
afraid  to  wrestle  or  mighty  stingy  with  his  honey- 
in-the-comb.  He  thought  so,  and  he  said  so,  and 
this  put  Brother  Bear  on  his  mettle.  So  he  says, 
says  he :  — 

"  <  Well,  Brother  Tiger,  come  and  get  a  piece 
of  my  honey-in-the-comb.  I  'm  more  than  glad 
to  give  it  to  you,  and  sorry,  too,  because,  as  sure 
as  you  eat  it,  you  '11  be  put  under  a  spell,  and 
you  '11  be  obliged  to  wrestle  with  me  seven  long 
years  or  give  me  all  your  belongings.' 

"  Brother  Tiger  grinned  from  ear  to  ear.  Says 
he,  c  If  I  don't  have  to  wrestle  before  I  get  the 
honey-in-the-comb,  it  will  be  all  right.  Just  let 
me  get  my  fill  of  that,  and  I  '11  wrestle  with  you 
seven  times  seven  years.  I  '11  promise  to  make 
you  tired  of  wrestling.' 

"  '  So  be  it,'  says  Brother  Bear.  '  Come  and 
get  the  honey-in-the-comb,  and  take  all  you  want, 
for  I  won't  need  any  after  I  've  wrestled  with 
you  a  time  or  two,'  says  he. 


WHY  THE  BEAR  IS  A    WRESTLER.          201 

"  Brother  Tiger  went  up  and  tasted  the  honey- 
in-the-comb,  and  it  was  so  good  that  he  smacked 
his  lips  and  asked  for  more.  Brother  Bear  gave 
him  some.  After  both  had  eat  as  much  as  they 
wanted.  Brother  Tiger  took  a  notion  to  go  home, 
but  something  held  him  back.  The  spell  was 
working.  But  finally  he  pulled  himself  together, 
and  said  he  believed  he  'd  go  home  and  see  his 
old  woman. 

"  But  Brother  Bear  chuckled  to  himself.  Says 
he,  (  Now  that  you  '  ve  gobbled  up  my  honey-in- 
the-comb,  you  don't  want  to  wrestle.  You  can't 
help  yourself.  When  I  say  wrestle,  you  '11  have 
to  wrestle.  You  can  go  home  now,  but  to 
morrow,  bright  and  early,  I  '11  knock  at  your 
door,  and  you  '11  have  to  come  out  and  wrestle.' 

"  Says  Brother  Tiger,  says  he,  e  I  '11  be  more 
than  glad  to  accommodate  you.  Just  knock  at 
the  door  any  hour  after  daybreak,  and  you  '11 
find  me  on  hand.' 

"Says  Brother  Bear,  *  I '11  do  so,  I'll  do 
so.  Just  remember  your  spoken  word,  Brother 
Tiger  !  ' 

"  Brother  Tiger  started  home,  but  before  he 
had  gone  very  far  he  began  to  feel  mighty  queer. 


202  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

He  had  a  buzzing  noise  in  bis  bead  and  a  creepy, 
crawly  feeling  on  bis  hide.  He  began  to  get 
scared.  Once  he  thought  the  honey  had  poisoned 
him,  but  he  was  n't  sick.  He  never  felt  better  in 
his  life.  He  wanted  to  jump  and  run,  and  I  be 
lieve  the  tale  does  say  that  he  capered  around  a 
time  or  two.  But  every  time  he  'd  start  home 
he  'd  have  that  buzzing  sound  in  his  head  and 

o 

that  creepy,  crawly  feeling  in  his  hide. 

"  So,  by  and  by,  he  thought  he  would  turn 
back  and  see  what  Brother  Bear  thought  about 
it.  No  sooner  said  than  done.  He  went  back  at 
a  hand  gallop,  and  found  Brother  Bear  curled  up 
at  the  foot  of  a  tree  fast  asleep.  The  honey  had 
made  him  feel  so  good  that  he  concluded  to  enjoy 
himself  by  taking  another  nap.  But  he  got  up 
brisk  enough  when  he  beard  Brother  Tio-er  call- 

O  O 

ing  him,  and  by  the  time  he  had  rubbed  his  eyes 
once  or  twice,  and  gaped  and  stretched  himself, 
he  was  as  wide  awake  as  ever. 

"  Says  he,  '  I  knew  you  'd  come  back,  Brother 
Tiger,  and  so  I  just  waited  for  you ;  and  while  I 
was  waiting  I  ups  and  drops  off  to  sleep.  But 
anyhow  and  anyway,  here  you  are,  and  there  's  no 
barm  done.' 


WHY  THE  BEAR   IS  A    WRESTLER.          203 

"  Says  Brother  Tiger,  says  he?  '  I  just  came 
back  to  ask  you  about  the  queer  feeling  I  have.' 

"  Says  Brother  Bear,  '  That  's  easy  enough 
You  just  wanted  to  wrestle,  and  so  you  had  to 
come  back.  I  have  the  feeling  most  all  the  time 
when  I  'm  not  sleeping  or  eating.  It 's  a  sort  of 
zooning  sound  in  the  ears,  and  a  sort  of  ticklish 
feeling  on  the  hide.  Well,  there  is  n't  anything 
the  matter  at  all.  You  just  want  to  wrestle,  and 
as  the  feeling  is  new  to  you,  you  did  n't  know 
what  it  was.' 

"  Says  Brother  Tiger,  '  I  believe  you  are  right, 
Brother  Bear  ;  I  believe  that 's  the  whole  trouble.' 

"'Well,'  says  Brother  Bear,  '  I  '11  try  you 
one  round,  just  to  loosen  up  my  hide  and  put  me 
in  traveling  trim.  I  '11  not  wrestle  with  you  very 
hard,  because  you  are  not  used  to  it,  and  it 's  too 
soon  to  get  down  to  business  with  you.  I  told 
you  about  it  when  you  wanted  to  eat  the  honey, 
but  you  would  eat  it,  and  now  you  '11  have  to 
wrestle  with  me,  off  and  on,  first  and  last,  for* 
seven  long  years ;  and  if  you  don't,  you  '11  have 
to  give  me  your  house  and  all  your  belongings.' 

"  So  they  took  off  their  coats  and  made  ready 
to  wrestle.  '  As  you  are  not  used  to  these  capers/ 


204  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

says  Brother  Bear,  '  I  '11  give  you  ail-under  holt, 
and  promise  not  to  use  the  in-turn,  the  ham- 
twist,  or  the  knee-lock.' 

"  Now,  Brother  Tiger  did  n't  know  whether 
Brother  Bear  was  talking  Latin  or  Chinese,  but 
he  said  nothing  :  he  just  stood  up  and  grabbed 
Brother  Bear  around  the  waist,  or  where  the 
waist  ought  to  be. 

"  '  When  you  are  ready,'  says  Brother  Bear, 
'  just  give  the  word.' 

"  '  Well,'  says  Brother  Tiger,  6 1  reckon  I  'm  as 
ready  now  as  I  ever  will  be.' 

"  With    that    Brother    Bear    hugged   Brother 

oo 

Tiger  pretty  tight,  whirled  around  with  him  a 
time  or  two,  fell  on  him,  and  then  cuffed  him, 
first  on  one  ear  and  then  on  the  other.  It  was 
ah*  done  so  quick  that  Brother  Tiger  did  n't  have 
time  to  say  don't.  He  got  up  and  felt  of  his  ribs 
to  see  if  they  were  still  whole,  and  then  he 
rubbed  the  side  of  his  head  where  Brother  Bear 
'had  cuffed  him.  It  had  already  begun  to  sweU. 
His  breeches  were  badly  ripped,  and  he  was  sore 
all  over. 

"  Says  he,  '  And  so  this  is  what  you  call  wres 
tling  —  this  is  what  I  was  itching  for,  is  it  ? ' 


HE   RUBBED   THE   SIDE   OF    HIS    HEAD 


WHY  THE  BEAR  IS  A    WRESTLER.          205 

"  '  Oh,  no  ! '  says  Brother  Bear.  '  It  would  n't 
do  to  call  that  wrestling.  That  was  only  playing. 
I  was  just  showing  you  the  first  few  capers :  you 
can't  wrestle  until  you  learn  how.  I  '11  drop  by 
your  house  to-morrow  morning,  bright  and  early, 
and  give  you  another  whirl.' 

"  Brother  Tiger  looked  mighty  solemn,  but  he 
did  n't  say  anything.  He  ambled  off  home  as 
well  as  he  could  in  his  condition,  and  got  his  old 
woman  to  mend  his  breeches.  She  wanted  to 
know  who  he  had  been  fighting  with,  but  he  told 
her  he  had  just  been  playing  with  Brother  Bear. 
She  laughed,  and  said  that  when  he  had  played 
that  way  a  few  more  times  there  would  n't  be 
enough  of  him  left,  neither  breeches,  body,  nor 
bones,  to  sew  up  in  a  bag. 

"  Well,  the  next  morning,  bright  and  early, 
Brother  Bear  rapped  at  Brother  Tiger's  door,  and 
told  him  to  come  out  and  take  some  exercise  be 
fore  breakfast.  Brother  Tiger  did  n't  like  this 
invitation  at  all.  He  said  he  wanted  to  sleep  a 
little  longer ;  but  Brother  Bear  sent  in  word  that 
the  night  was  made  for  sleeping,  while  the  day 
was  made  for  work  and  play.  Now,  it  so  hap 
pened  that  the  honey  which  Brother  Tiger  had 


206  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

ate  had  put  a  spell  on  him,  and  when  Brother 
Bear  asked  him  out  to  wrestle  he  had  to  come. 
He  pulled  on  his  clothes  with  no  good  heart,  for 
he  wras  still  very  sore,  and  came  limping  out,  try 
ing  to  put  a  good  face  on  the  affair.  Brother 
Bear  laughed,  and  told  Brother  Tiger  howdy,  but 
Brother  Tiger  did  n't  make  much  of  a  reply. 

"  So  Brother  Bear  says,  says  he,  '  I  hope  you 
are  not  begrudging  your  bargain,  Brother  Tiger, 
but  you  made  it  yourself,  and  at  no  invitation  of 
mine.  I  had  the  seven  pieces  of  honey-in-the- 
comb,  and  you  had  the  bad  taste  in  the  mouth. 
I  told  you  how  it  would  be,  but  you  would  have 
the  honey,  and  now  you  11  have  to  stand  to  your 
bargain :  you  can't  help  yourself  now.  I  told 
you  the  plain  truth  about  it,  but  you  would  n't 
believe  it.  You  '11  find  out  the  truth  before  you 
get  the  taste  of  that  honey  out  of  your  mouth.' 

"  Then  they  made  a  few  passes  at  each  other  ; 
but  Brother  Bear  finally  grabbed  Brother  Tiger 
around  his  striped  waist,  squeezed  the  breath  out 
of  him,  dashed  him  on  the  ground,  cuffed  his 
ears,  and  then  stood  there  on  his  hind  legs,  wait 
ing  to  see  what  Brother  Tiger  was  going  to  do. 
But  Brother  Tiger  did  n't  want  any  more  wrestling 


WHY  THE  BEAR  IS  A    WRESTLER.          207 

for  that  day.  He  went  into  the  house  and  washed 
his  face  and  hands,  and  sat  down  and  licked  his 
bruises  the  best  he  could. 

"  But  the  next  morning  he  had  to  come  out 
and  wrestle  again,  and  this  happened  until  he  was 
so  weak  he  could  hardly  walk.  His  hide  was 
split,  his  ears  were  swollen,  and  every  stripe  on 
his  long  body  was  crossed  by  a  scar.  Wrestling 
was  fine  fun  for  Brother  Bear,  who  was  used  to  it, 
but  it  was  no  fun  for  Brother  Tiger,  who  did  n't 
know  how.  Every  time  he  wrestled  he  got  new 
bruises,  and  his  head  swelled  until  he  could  hardly 
get  in  the  door  of  his  house  without  backing 
his  ears. 

"  Finally,  one  day  he  told  Brother  Bear  can 
didly  that  he  would  rather  give  up  his  house  and 
lot  than  to  be  tossed  around  and  cuffed  at  that 
rate.  Brother  Bear  said  that  he  would  rather 
wrestle  and  have  a  jolly  time  than  to  take  Brother 
Tiger's  house ;  but  Brother  Tiger  would  n't  hear 
to  that.  He  said  he  could  n't  stay  in  that  part  of 
the  country  and  hear  the  talk  of  the  neighbors. 
They  would  pester  him  mighty  near  to  death  on 
the  week  days,  and  fairly  kill  him  out  on  Sunday, 
when  they  had  nothing  to  do  but  sit  around  and 
gossip. 


208  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  So  Brother  Tiger  moved  out,  and  Brother  Bear 
moved  in ;  and  it  has  come  to  pass  that  Brother 
Tiger  won't  stay  in  the  same  country  with  Bro 
ther  Bear  for  fear  that  he  will  have  to  do  some 
more  wrestling." 


XIX. 

THE    SHOEMAKER    WHO    MADE    BUT    ONE    SHOE. 

"Now,  I  '11  tell  you  honestly/'  said  Little  Mr. 
Thimblefinger,  popping  out  from  under  Mr.  Rab 
bit's  big  arm-chair,  "I  don't  like  such  stories. 
They  give  me  the  all-overs.  I  expect  maybe  it 's 
because  they  are  true." 

"  No  doubt  that 's  the  trouble  with  them/'  re 
marked  Mr.  Rabbit  in  a  tone  unusually  solemn. 
"  You  don't  think  that  at  my  time  of  life  my 
tongue  is  nimble  enough  for  me  to  sit  here  and 
make  up  stories  to  suit  the  hour  and  the  com 
pany  ?  By  the  bye/'  he  continued,  turning 
around  so  as  to  catch  Little  Mr.  Thimblefinger 's 
eye,  "  what  stories  were  you  talking  about  ?  " 

"  Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  was  fast  asleep, 
for  the  most  part,  but  I  distinctly  remember 
something  about  Moons  and  Monkeys.  When  I 
heard  that,  I  just  went  off  to  sleep  in  spite  of 
myself." 

"  There  's  no  accounting  for  tastes,"  said  Mr. 


210  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Kabbit.  "  There  are  some  tales  that  put  me  to 
sleep,  and  I  have  no  complaint  to  make  when  any 
body  begins  to  doze  over  them  that  I  tell." 

"  Oh,  you  tell  'em  well  enough,"  Little  Mr. 
Thimblefmger  declared.  "  If  anything,  you  make 
them  better  than  they  ought  to  be.  You  lift 
your  ears  at  the  right  place,  and  pat  your  foot 
when  the  time  comes.  I  don't  know  what  more 
could  be  asked  in  telling  a  story." 

"So  far  so  good,"  remarked  Mrs.  Meadows, 
who  had  thus  far  said  nothing.  "  Suppose  you 
whirl  in  and  tell  us  the  kind  of  tale  that  you 
really  admire." 

"  That  's  easier  said  than  done,"  replied  Little 
Mr.  Thimblefinger,  fidgeting  about  a  little.  "  You 
have  to  take  the  tales  as  they  come.  Sometimes 
one  will  pop  into  your  head  in  spite  of  yourself. 
You  remember  it  just  because  you  did  n't  like  it 
when  you  first  heard  it." 

"  Tell  us  one,  anyway,  just  to  pass  away  the 
time,"  said  Sweetest  Susan. 

"If  I  tell  you  one,"  Little  Mr.  Thimblefinger 
replied,  "  I  '11  not  promise  it  will  be  one  that  I 
like.  That  would  be  promising  too  much.  But 
the  talk  about  the  Moon,  that  I  heard  before  I 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  211 

dozed  off  just  now,  reminded  me  of  a  tale  I  heard 
when  I  was  a  good  deal  smaller  than  I  am  now. 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  man  who  had 
two  sons.  They  were  twins,  but  they  were  just 
as  different  from  each  other  as  they  could  possibly 
be.  One  was  dark,  and  the  other  was  light  com 
plected.  One  was  slim,  and  the  other  was  fat. 
One  was  good,  and  the  other  was  what  people  call 
bad.  He  was  lazy,  and  full  of  fun  and  mischief. 
They  grew  up  that  way  until  they  were  nineteen 
or  twenty  years  old.  The  good  boy  would  work 
hard  every  day,  or  pretend  to  work  hard,  and  then 
he  'd  pfo  back  home  and  tell  his  mother  and 

O 

father  that  his  brother  had  n't  done  a  stroke  of 
work.  Of  course,  this  made  the  old  people  feel 
very  queer.  The  mother  felt  sorrowful,  and  the 
father  felt  angry.  This  went  on,  until  finally,  one 
day,  the  father  became  so  angry  that  he  con 
cluded  to  take  his  bad  son  into  some  foreign 
country,  and  bind  him  out  to  some  person  who 
could  make  him  work  and  cure  him  of  his  mis- 
chievousness.  In  those  days  people  sometimes 
bound  out  their  children  to  learn  trades  and  good 
manners  and  things  of  that  sort." 

"  I  wish  dey  'd  do  it  now,"  exclaimed  Drusilla. 


212  MR.   RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  Kaze  den  I  would  n't  hafter  be  playin'  nuss,  an' 
be  gwine  in  all  kind  er  quare  places  whar  you 
dunner  when  ner  whar  you  kin  git  out." 

"Stuff!"  cried  Buster  John.  "  Why  don't 
you  be  quiet  and  listen  to  the  story  ?  " 

"It  go  long  too  slow  fer  ter  suit  me/'  said 
Drusilla  in  a  grumbling  tone. 

"  Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  turning 
to  Buster  John,  "  you  've  come  mighty  close  to 
telling  a  part  of  the  tale  I  had  in  niy  mind." 

"  I  don't  see  how/'  replied  Buster  John  with 
some  surprise. 

"  You  said  <  stuff  !  '  "  responded  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger,  u  and  that 's  a  part  of  my  story.  If  you 
listen,  you  '11  soon  find  out.  As  I  was  saying, 
people  in  old  times  bound  out  their  sons  to  some 
good  man,  who  taught  them  a  good  trade  or 
something  of  that  kind.  Well,  this  man  that  I 
was  telling  you  about  took  his  bad  son  off  to  a 
foreign  country,  and  tried  to  find  some  one  to 
bind  him  out  to.  They  traveled  many  days  and 
nights.  They  went  over  mountains  and  passed 
through  valleys.  They  crossed  plains,  and  they 
went  through  the  wild  woods. 

o 

"  Now,  the  man  who  was  taking  his  son  into  a 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  213 

foreign  country  was  getting  old,  and  the  farther 
they  walked,  the  more  tired  he  grew.  At  last, 
one  day,  when  they  were  going  through  the  big 
woods,  he  sat  down  to  rest  near  a  tall  poplar-tree, 
and,  turning  to  his  son,  said  angrily :  — 

" '  Stuff !  you  are  not  worth  all  this  trouble. 
But  for  you  I  'd  be  at  home  now,  enjoying  my 
self  and  smoking  my  pipe.' 

"  The  son,  who  was  used  to  these  outbreaks, 
made  no  reply,  but  stretched  himself  out  on  the 
dead  leaves  that  littered  the  ground.  He  had 
hardly  done  so  when  there  was  a  tremendous  noise 
in  the  woods,  and  then  both  father  and  son  saw 
rushing  toward  them  an  old  man  with  a  long 
beard,  followed  by  a  small  army  of  fierce-looking 
dwarfs  armed  with  clubs  and  knives  and  pikes. 
They  rushed  up  and  surrounded  the  father  and 
son. 

" '  Which  of  you  called  my  name  and  abused 
me  ? '  cried  the  old  man  with  the  long  beard. 

"  '  Not  I,'  said  the  bad  son. 

"  '  Not  I,'  said  the  father.  '  I  am  sure  I  never 
saw  you  or  heard  of  you  before.' 

"  This  made  the  old  man  more  furious  than 
ever.  He  fairly  trembled  with  rage.  6  Did  n't  I 


214  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

hear  one  of  you  say,  "  Stuff  !  but  for  you  I  'd 
be  at  home  now  enjoying  myself,  and  smoking 
my  pipe  ?  " 

"  '  I  did  say  something  like  that,'  replied  the 
father  in  great  astonishment. 

"  '  How  dare  you  ? '  cried  the  old  man,  beside 
himself  with  rage.  (  How  did  I  ever  harm  you  ? 
Seize  him !  '  he  said  to  his  army  of  dwarfs. 
'  Seize  him,  and  bind  him  hard  and  fast !  I  '11 
show  him  whether  he  can  come  into  my  kingdom 
and  abuse  me  ! ' 

"  The  father  was  speechless  with  astonishment, 
and  made  no  attempt  to  prevent  the  dwarfs  from 
seizing  and  binding  him.  They  had  him  tied 
hard  and  fast  before  he  could  say  a  word,  even  if 
he  had  had  a  word  to  say.  But  by  this  time  the 
son  had  risen  to  his  feet. 

"  '  Wait !  '  he  cried,  <  let  's  see  what  the 
trouble  is  !  Who  are  you  ? '  he  inquired,  turn 
ing  to  the  old  man  with  the  long  beard. 

" '  My  name  is  Stuff,'  he  replied,  '  and  I  am 
king  of  this  country  which  you  are  passing 
through.  I  'm  not  going  to  allow  any  one  to 
abuse  me  in  my  own  kingdom.  You  may  go 
free,  but  mind  you  go  straight  back  the  way  you 
came.' 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  215 

"  The  son  thought  the  matter  over  a  little 
while,  and  then  turned  on  his  heel  and  went  back 
the  way  he  had  come,  and,  as  he  walked,  he 
whistled  all  the  lively  tunes  he  could  think  of. 
For  a  time  he  was  glad  that  his  father  was  no 
longer  with  him  to  quarrel  and  complain  ;  but 
finally  he  grew  lonely,  and  then  he  began  to 
think  how  his  father  had  raised  him  up  from  a 
little  child.  The  more  he  thought  about  this,  the 
sorrier  he  was  that  he  had  given  his  father  any 
trouble.  He  sat  down  on  a  log  by  the  side  of  the 
road  and  thought  it  all  over,  and  presently  he 
began  to  cry. 

"  While  he  was  sitting  there  with  his  head 
between  his  hands,  crying  over  the  fate  of  his 
father,  a  queer-looking  little  man  came  jogging 
along  the  road.  He  had  bushy  hair  and  a  beard 
that  grew  all  over  his  face,  except  right  around 
his  eyes  and  lips  and  the  tip-end  of  his  nose. 
His  beard  was  not  long,  but  it  was  very  thick, 
and  it  stood  out  around  his  face  like  the  spokes 
in  a  buggy-wheel.  He  seemed  to  be  in  a  big 
hurry,  but  when  he  saw  the  young  man  sitting 
on  the  log  crying,  he  stopped,  and  stared  at  him. 

"<Tut,  tut!'  he  cried.  ' What's  all  this? 
Who  has  hurt  your  feelings  ? ' 


216  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  If  the  young  man  had  not  been  so  sorrowful, 
he  would  have  been  surprised  to  see  the  queer- 
looking  little  man  standing  by  him.  But,  as  it 
was,  he  did  n't  seem  to  be  surprised  at  all.  He 
just  looked  at  the  stranger  with  red  eyes. 

"  '  My  name  is  Mum/  said  the  stranger,  '  and 
I  'm  the  Man  in  the  Moon.  Tell  me  your 
troubles.  Maybe  I  can  help  you.  I  'm  in  a 
great  hurry,  because  the  Moon  must  change  day 
after  to-morrow,  and  I  must  be  there  to  lend  a 
hand  ;  but  I  '11  not  allow  my  hurry  to  prevent  me 
from  hearing  your  troubles  and  helping  you  if  I 
can.' 

"  So  then  and  there  the  young  man  told  his 
story,  and  the  Man  in  the  Moon  sighed  heavily 
when  he  heard  it. 

"  (  I  see  how  it  is,'  he  said.  '  You  are  young 
and  thoughtless,  and  your  father  is  old  and 
crabbed.  You  never  thought  of  what  you  owed 
him,  and  he  never  made  any  allowances  for  your 
youth.  He  's  in  no  danger.  I  know  old  Stuff 
well.  I  've  watched  him  many  a  night  when  he 
thought  nobody  had  an  eye  on  him,  and  he  's  a 
pretty  tough  and  cunning  customer.  You  must 
have  help  if  you  get  your  father  out  of  trouble.' 


A  QUEER   LOOKING   LITTLE   MAN   CAME  JOGGING  ALONG  THE 

ROAD 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  217 

"  {  What  am  I  to  do  ? '  asked  the  young  man. 

"  <  Well/  replied  the  Man  in  the  Moon,  '  in  the 
first  place  you  will  have  to  go  home.  Say  no 
thing  about  the  trouble  your  father  is  in.  Just 
tell  your  mother  that  he  has  lost  the  sole  of  his 
shoe,  and  has  sent  you  for  the  awl  that  is  in  the 
big  red  cupboard,  a  piece  of  leather,  a  handful  of 
pegs,  and  a  piece  of  wax.' 

"  '  What  then  ?  '  the  young  man  inquired. 

" '  Bring   them   here,'    said   the   Man    in    the 

c?  t 

Moon.  e  By  the  time  you  get  back,  I  will  have 
another  holiday.  We  '11  put  our  heads  together 
a*nd  see  what  can  be  done.' 

"  The  young  man  made  no  delay.  He  was  so 
anxious  about  his  father  that  he  started  for  home 
at  once.  It  was  a  long  journey,  but  he  lost  no 
time  on  the  way.  He  was  in  rags  and  tatters 
when  he  reached  home,  but  that  made  no  dif 
ference  to  him.  He  took  no  time  to  eat,  or  to 
sleep,  or  to  rest,  but  went  to  his  mother  at  once, 
and  told  her  that  his  father  had  lost  the  sole  of 
his  shoe,  and  had  sent  for  the  awl  that  lay  in  the 
big  red  cupboard,  a  strong  piece  of  leather,  a 
handful  of  shoe-pegs,  and  a  cake  of  shoemaker's 
wax. 


218  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  His  mother  asked  him  a  great  many  ques 
tions,  as  women  will,  but  all  the  answer  the  son 
would  make  was  that  his  father  had  lost  the 
sole  of  his  shoe,  and  had  sent  for  the  awl  that 
lay  in  the  big"  red  cupboard,  a  strong  piece  of 
leather,  a  handful  of  shoe-pegs,  and  a  cake  of 
shoemaker's  wax.  Of  course,  the  mother  was 
very  much  worried.  She  finally  came  to  the  con 
clusion  that  some  great  calamity  had  befallen  her 
husband,  and  she  went  about  crying  and  wring 
ing  her  hands,  and  declaring  that  they  were  all 
ruined ;  that  her  husband  was  dead  ;  and  that 
more  than  likely  he  had  been  murdered  by  this 
bad,  bad  son  of  hers,  who  had  no  other  story  to 
tell  except  to  ask  for  the  awl  that  lay  in  the  big 
red  cupboard,  a  strong  piece  of  leather,  a  hand 
ful  of  shoe-pegs,  and  a  cake  of  shoemaker's  wax. 

"  Now,  the  good  son  heard  all  this,  but  he  said 
nothing.  He  just  folded  his  hands  and  fetched 
a  sigh  or  two,  and  seemed  to  be  sorry  for  every 
thing  in  general.  But  while  the  mother  was 
going  about  wringing  her  hands  and  weeping, 
and  the  good  son  was  heaving  and  fetching  his 
sighs,  the  other  son  went  to  the  big  red  cupboard. 
There  on  a  shelf  he  saw  the  awl  sticking  in  a 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  219 

cake  of  shoemaker's  wax.  Near  it  was  a  strong 
piece  of  leather,  and  close  by  was  a  handful  of 
shoe-pegs.  He  took  these,  changed  his  ragged 
coat,  and  started  back  on  his  journey. 

66  Now,  although  the  good  son  did  nothing  but 
sigh  and  look  sorry,  he  had  deep  ideas  of  his 
own.  The  reason  he  was  called  the  good  son  was 
because  he  was  so  cunning.  He  thought  to  him 
self  that  now  would  be  a  good  time  to  do  a  fine 
stroke  of  business.  He  knew  that  his  brother 
had  something  more  on  his  mind  than  the  awl, 
the  leather,  the  pegs,  and  the  shoemaker's  wax, 
and  he  wanted  to  find  out  about  it.  So  he  ran 
after  his  brother  to  ask  him  what  the  real  trouble 
was.  He  caught  up  with  him  a  little  way  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  village,  but  no  satisfaction  could 
he  get.  Then  he  began  to  abuse  his  brother  and 
to  accuse  him  of  all  sorts  of  things. 

"  But  the  son,  who  was  trying  to  get  his  father 
out  of  trouble,  paid  no  attention  to  this.  He 
went  forward  on  his  journey,  turning  his  'head 
neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  The  good 
brother  (as  he  was  called)  followed  along  after  the 
best  he  could,  being  determined  to  see  the  end  of 
the  business.  But  somehow  it  happened  that,  on 


220  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

the  second  day,  the  brother  who  was  going  to 
meet  the  Man  in  the  Moon  was  so  tired  and  worn 
out  that  he  was  compelled  to  crawl  under  a  hay 
stack  and  go  to  sleep.  In  this  way  the  good 
brother  passed  him  on  the  road  and  went  forward 
on  his  journey,  never  doubting  that  the  other 
was  just  ahead  of  him.  Finally,  one  day,  the 
good  brother  grew  tired  and  sat  down  on  a  log  to 
rest.  He  sat  there  so  long  that  the  brother  he 
thought  he  was  following  came  up.  He  was  very 
much  surprised  to  see  his  nice  and  good  brother 
sitting  on  a  log  and  nodding  in  that  country.  So 
he  woke  him  up  and  asked  him  what  the  trouble 
was. 

" 6  Stuff  ! '  cried  the  other,  '  you  know  you  have 
made  way  with  our  father ! ' 

"  At  once  there  was  a  roaring  noise  in  the 
woods  and  a  rustling  sound  in  the  underbrush, 
and  out  came  an  old  man  with  a  long  beard,  fol 
lowed  by  an  army  of  dwarfs. 

" ( How  dare  you  abuse  me  in  my  own  king 
dom  ? '  he  cried  to  the  good  brother.  '  How  did 
I  ever  harm  you  ? ' 

"  The  brother,  who  had  seen  this  game  played 
before,  tried  to  explain,  but  King  Stuff  would 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  221 

listen  to  no  explanation.  He  commanded  his 
armed  dwarfs  to  seize  and  bind  the  good  brother, 
and  they  soon  carried  him  out  of  sight  in  spite 
of  his  cries. 

"  Now,  the  young  man  who  had  gone  home  for 
the  awl  and  the  axe  and  the  shoemaker's  wax 
was  very  much  puzzled.  He  had  more  business 
on  his  hands  than  he  knew  what  to  do  with.  He 
saw  that  he  must  now  rescue  his  brother  as  well 
as  his  father,  and  he  did  n't  know  how  to  go 
about  it.  He  had  the  awl  and  the  axe  and  the 
shoemaker's  wax.  He  also  had  the  shoe-pegs  and 
leather  that  he  found  together.  But  what  was  he 
to  do  with  them  ?  He  sat  on  the  log  and 
thought  about  it  a  long  time. 

O  O 

"  While  he  was  sitting  there,  and  just  as  he 
was  about  to  go  forward  on  his  journey,  he  heard 
some  one  coming  briskly  down  the  road  singing. 
He  heard  enough  of  the  song  to  be  very  much 
interested  in  it.  It  ran  thus :  — 

"  <  With  the  awl  and  the  axe 
And  the  shoemaker's  wax, 
And  the  pegs  and  the  leather 
That  were  found  close  together 

Where  the  old  man  had  fling'd  'em, 
We  '11  bore  through  and  roar  through  ; 


222  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

We  '11  cut  down,  we  '11  put  down, 
This  king  and  his  kingdom.' 

"  Of  course,  it  was  the  Man  in  the  Moon  who 
was  coming  along  the  road  singing  the  song,  and 
he  seemed  to  be  in  high  good  humor.  He  caught 
sight  of  the  solemn  face  of  the  young  man  and 
began  to  laugh. 

" '  There  you  are  !  '  cried  Mum,  the  Man  in  the 
Moon,  <  and  I  'm  glad  to  see  you ;  but  I  'd  feel  a 
great  deal  better  if  you  did  n't  look  so  lonesome. 
I  don't  know  what  to  do  about  it.  Your  face  is 
as  long  as  a  hind  quarter  of  beef.' 

"  '  I  can't  help  it,'  replied  the  young  man.  '  I 
am  in  deeper  trouble  than  ever.  My  brother  has 
been  carried  off  by  the  same  people  that  captured 
my  father.' 

"  '  What  of  it  ? '  exclaimed  the  Man  in  the 
Moon.  '  If  you  knew  as  much  about  that  bro 
ther  of  yours  as  I  do,  you  'd  go  on  about  your 
business,  and  let  him  stay  where  he  is.' 

"  '  No,'  said  the  young  man.  f  I  could  n't  do 
that.  I  know  he  is  my  brother,  and  that  is 
enough.  And  then  there  's  my  father.' 

"  The  Man  in  the  Moon  looked  at  the  young 
man  a  long  time,  and  finally  said  :  — 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  223 

" ( Since  we  are  to  have  a  sort  of  holiday  to 
gether,  maybe  you  won't  mind  telling  me  your 
name.' 

"  '  Why,  of  course  not/  replied  the  young  man. 
'  My  name  is  Smat.' 

"  The  Man  in  the  Moon  scratched  his  head  and 
then  laughed.  '  It  is  a  queer  name/  he  said ; 
'  but  I  see  no  objection  to  it.  I  suppose  it  just 
happened  so.' 

"  (  Now,  I  can't  tell  you  anything  about  that/ 
replied  Smat.  '  I  was  too  young  when  the  name 
was  given  to  take  any  part  in  the  performance. 
They  seized  me,  and  named  me  at  a  time  when  I 
had  to  take  any  name  that  they  chose  to  give  me. 
They  named  me  Smat,  and  that  was  the  end  of  it 
so  far  as  I  was  concerned.  They  never  asked  me 
how  I  liked  it,  but  just  slapped  the  name  in  my 
face,  as  you  may  say,  and  left  it  there.' 

"  '  Well/  said  the  Man  in  the  Moon,  <  they  '11 
put  another  letter  in  the  name  when  you  get  back 
home.  Instead  of  calling  you  Smat,  they  '11  say 
you  are  Smart,  and  there 's  some  consolation  in 
that.' 

"  <  Not  much  as  I  can  see/  remarked  Smat. 
'It's  all  in  your  mouth,  and  what  is  in  your 


224  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

mouth  is  pretty  much  all  wind  and  water,  if  you 
try  to  spit  it  out.  What  I  want  now  is  to  get 
my  father  and  my  brother  out  of  the  trouble  that 
my  mischief  has  plunged  them  in.  Please  help 
me.  They  ought  to  be  at  home  right  now. 
There 's  the  corn  to  grind,  and  the  cows  are  wait 
ing  to  be  milked,  and  the  grain  is  to  be  gathered. 
Times  are  pretty  hard  at  our  house  when  every 
body  is  away.' 

"  *  Very  well/  said  the  Man  in  the  Moon.  He 
had  hanging  by  his  side  the  horn  of  the  new 
Moon,  and  on  this  he  blew  a  loud  blast.  Im 
mediately  there  was  a  roaring  noise  in  the  woods, 
and  very  soon  there  swarmed  about  them  a  com 
pany  of  little  men,  all  bearing  the  tiniest  and  the 
prettiest  lanterns  that  were  ever  seen.  It  was  not 
night,  but  their  lanterns  were  blazing,  and  as  they 
marched  around  the  Man  in  the  Moon  in  regu 
lar  order,  it  seemed  as  though  the  light  of  their 
lanterns  had  quenched  that  of"  the  sun,  so  that 
Smat  saw  the  woods  in  a  different  light  alto 
gether.  He  had  not  moved,  but  he  seemed  to 
be  in  another  country  entirely.  The  trees  had 
changed,  and  the  ground  itself.  He  was  no 
longer  sitting  on  a  log  by  the  side  of  the  big 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  225 

road,  but  was  now  standing  on  his  feet  in  a 
strange  country,  as  it  seemed  to  him. 

"  He  had  risen  from  his  seat  on  the  log  when 

o 

the  little  men  with  their  lanterns  began  marching 
around,  but  otherwise  he  had  not  moved.  And 
yet  here  he  was  in  a  country  that  was  new  to 
him.  He  rubbed  his  eyes  in  a  -dazed  way,  and 
when  he  opened  them  again,  another  change  had 
taken  place.  Neither  he  nor  the  Man  in  the 
Moon  had  made  any  movement  away  from  the  big 
road  and  the  log  that  was  lying  by  the  side  of 
it,  but  now  they  were  down  in  a  wide  valley,  that 
stretched  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  between  two 
high  mountain  ranges. 

"  '  Now,  then/  said  the  Man  in  the  Moon,  '  you 
must  be  set  up  in  business.  On  the  side  of  the 
mountain  yonder  is  the  palace  of  King  Stuff, 
and  somewhere  not  far  away  you  will  find  your 
father  and  your  brother,  and  perhaps  some  one 
else.' 

"He  then  called  to  the  leaders  of  the  little 
men  with  the  lanterns,  and  gave  each  one  a  task 
to  do.  Their  names  were  Drift  and  Sift,  Glimmer 
and  Gleam,  and  Shimmer  and  Sheen.  These  six 
leaders  waved  their  lanterns  about,  called  their 


226  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

followers  about  them,  and  at  once  began  to  build 
a  house." 

"  And  they  so  little,  too,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Meadows  sympathetically. 

"  Why,  it  was  no  trouble  in  the  world  to  them," 
said  Little  Mr.  Thimblefmger.  "  It  did  n't  seem 
as  if  they  were  building  a  house.  Did  you  ever 
see  a  flower  open  ?  You  look  at  it  one  minute, 
turn  your  head  away  and  forget  about  it,  and  the 
next  time  you  look,  there  it  is  open  wide.  That 
was  the  way  with  this  house  the  little  men  built. 
It  just  seemed  to  grow  out  of  the  ground.  As 
it  grew,  the  little  men  climbed  on  it,  waved  their 
lanterns  about,  and  the  house  continued  to  grow 
higher  and  higher,  and  larger  and  larger,  until  it 
was  finished.  Not  a  nail  had  been  driven,  not 
a  board  had  been  rived,  not  a  plank  had  been 
planed,  not  a  sill  had  been  hewn,  not  a  brick  had 
been  burned.  And  yet  there  was  the  house  all 
new  and  fine,  with  a  big  chimney-stack  in  the 
middle. 

66 '  Now/  said  the  Man  in  the  Moon,  when 
everything  was  done,  'here  is  your  house,  and 
you  may  move  in  with  bag  and  baggage.' 

"  '  That  is  quickly  done,'  replied  Smat.  '  What 
then?' 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  227 

" '  Why,  you  must  set  up  as  a  shoemaker/  said 
the  Man  in  the  Moon. 

"  6  But  I  never  made  a  shoe  in  my  life/  the 
young  man  declared. 

"  6  So  much  the  more  reason  why  you  should 
make  'em  before  you  die/  the  Man  in  the  Moon 
remarked.  '  The  sooner  you  begin  to  make  shoes, 
the  sooner  you  '11  learn  how.' 

"  6  That  's  so  true/  said  Smat,  ( that  I  have 
no  reply  to  make.  ( I  '11  do  as  you  say,  if  I  can.' 

"  '  That 's  better/  cried  the  Man  in  the  Moon. 
( If  you  do  that,  you  '11  have  small  trouble.  If 
you  don't,  I  would  n't  like  to  tell  you  what  will 
happen.  Now  listen  !  There  is  in  this  kingdom 
a  person  (I  '11  not  say  who)  that  goes  about 
with  only  one  shoe.  When  you  see  that  person, 
no  matter  when  or  where,  —  no  matter  whether 
it 's  man,  woman,  or  child,  —  you  must  let  it  be 
known  that  you  are  ready  to  make  a  shoe.' 

"  Then  the  Man  in  the  Moon  called  to  the 
leaders  of  his  army  of  lantern  bearers,  and  waved 
his  hands.  They,  in  turn,  waved  their  tiny  lan 
terns,  and  in  a  moment  all  were  out  of  sight,  and 
Smat  was  left  alone.  For  some  time  afterwards 
he  felt  both  lonely  and  uneasy,  but  this  feeling 


228  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

passed  away  as  soon  as  he  went  into  his  house. 
He  was  so  astonished  by  what  he  saw  in  there 
that  he  forgot  to  feel  uneasy.  He  saw  that, 
although  the  house  was  newly  built,  —  if  it  had 
been  built,  —  it  was  in  fact  old  enough  inside  to 
seem  like  home.  Every  room  was  finely  furnished 
and  carpeted,  and  in  one  part  of  the  house,  in  a 
sort  of  shed-room,  he  found  that  a  shoemaker's 
shop  had  been  fixed  up.  There  he  saw  the  awl 
and  the  axe,  and  the  shoemaker's  wax,  with  the 
pegs  and  the  leather  that  were  found  close  to 
gether. 

"  He  thought  to  himself  that  all  that  was  very 
nice,  but  he  knew,  too,  that  he  was  not  much  of 
a  shoemaker,  and  this  bothered  him  not  a  little. 
Anyhow,  he  made  himself  comfortable  and  waited 
to  see  what  was  going  to  happen. 

"One  day  a  head  officer  of  the  kingdom 
chanced  to  pass  that  way.  He  saw  the  house  and 
rubbed  his  eyes.  He  was  so  astonished  that  he 
went  and  told  another  officer,  and  this  officer  told 
another,  and  finally  all  the  officers  in  the  king 
dom  knew  about  it.  Now,  if  you  've  ever  no 
ticed,  those  who  hold  government  offices  have  less 
to  do  and  more  time  to  do  it  in  than  any  other 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  229 

day  laborers.  So  they  went  about  and  caucussed 
among1  themselves,  and  examined  into  the  books, 
and  found  that  no  taxes  had  ever  been  gathered 
from  the  owner  of  such  a  house.  There  was 
great  commotion  among  them.  One  of  them, 
more  meddlesome  than  the  rest,  took  a  big  book 
under  his  arm  and  went  to  Smat's  house  to  make 
inquiries.  The  first  question  he  asked  was  the 
last. 

"  Says  he,  '  How  long  have  you  been  living  in 
this  precinct  ? ' 

"  Says  Smat,  '  Ever  since  the  house  was  built 
and  a  little  while  before.' 

"  The  officer  looked  at  the  house  and  saw  that 
it  was  a  very  old  one,  and  then  he  tucked  his  big 
book  under  his  arm  and  went  off  home.  At  last 
the  king  —  the  same  King  Stuff  whose  name 
you  've  heard  me  mention  —  heard  about  the 
new  house  that  was  old,  and  of  the  shoemaker 
who  did  n't  know  how  to  make  shoes.  So  he  con 
cluded  to  look  into  the  matter.  He  summoned 
his  high  and  mighty  men,  and  when  they  had 
gathered  together  they  went  into  a  back  room 
of  the  palace  and  shut  the  door,  and  had  a  long 
talk  together.  All  this  took  time ;  and  while  the 


230  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

king  and  his  high  and  mighty  men  were  confab 
bing  together,  other  things  were  happening,  as 
you  shall  presently  see. 

"  It  seems  that  in  that  kingdom  there  was  a 
beautiful  girl  who  went  wandering  about  the 

o  o 

country.  If  she  had  any  kinsfolk,  nobody  knew 
anything  about  it,  and,  indeed,  nobody  cared. 
She  had  lost  one  of  her  shoes,  and  she  went  about 
from  place  to  place  hunting  for  it.  Some  pitied 
her,  and  some  laughed  at  her,  which  is  the  wray 
of  the  world,  as  you  '11  find  out;  but  nobody 
tried  to  help  her.  Some  said  that  one  shoe  was 
better  than  no  shoe,  and  others  said  that  a  new 
shoe  would  do  just  as  well  as  an  old  shoe." 

"  That  's  where  they  made  a  big  mistake,"  said 
Mrs.  Meadows.  "  I  've  tried  it,  and  I  ought  to 
know.  A  new  shoe  is  bound  to  hurt  you  a  little 
at  first,  I  don't  care  how  well  it  fits." 

"  Well,  I  'm  only  telling  you  what  they  said," 
replied  little  Mr.  Thimblefinger.  "  From  all  I 
can  hear,  new  shoes  hurt  the  ladies  a  great  deal 
worse  than  they  do  the  men.  But  that 's  natural, 
for  their  toes  and  their  heels  are  a  good  deal 
tenderer  than  those  of  the  men  folks.  Anyhow, 
this  beautiful  girl  had  lost  one  of  her  shoes,  and, 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  231 

rather  than  buy  another  one  or  a  new  pair,  she 
went  hunting1  it  everywhere.  One  clay  she  came 
by  jSmat's  house.  He,  sitting  by  one  of  the  win 
dows,  and  wishing1  that  he  could  see  his  father 

o 

and  brother,  paid  no  attention  to  the  passers-by. 
But  this  beautiful  girl  saw  him  at  the  window 
and  spoke  to  him. 

"  '  Kind  sir/  she  said,  '  have  you  seen  anything 
of  a  stray  shoe  ?  I  have  lost  one  of  mine,  and 
I  'm  in  great  trouble  about  it.' 

"  Smat  looked  at  the  girl,  and  she  was  so  beau 
tiful  that  he  could  n't  help  but  blush.  Seeing 
this,  the  girl  began  to  blush.  And  so  there  they 
were,  two  young  things  a-blushing  at  one  another, 
and  wondering  what  was  the  matter. 

"  '  I  have  seen  no  stray  shoe/  said  Smat ;  '  but 
if  you  '11  come  in  and  show  me  the  one  you  have 
on,  I  think  I  '11  know  its  fellow  when  I  see  it.' 

"  The  girl  went  into  the  house  and  sat  on  a 
chair,  and  showed  Smat  the  shoe  that  she  had  n't 
lost.  She  had  the  smallest  and  the  neatest  foot 
he  had  ever  seen. 

" ( I  hope  you  are  no  kin  to  Cinderella/  said 
Smat,  '  for  then  you  could  n't  get  a  shoe  to  fit 
your  other  foot  until  some  kind  fairy  made  it.' 


232  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

" '  I  never  heard  of  Cinderella/  the  girl  re 
plied.  '  I  only  know  that  I  have  lost  my  shoe, 
and  I  'm  afraid  I  '11  never  get  another  just  like  it.' 

"  Smat  scratched  his  head,  and  then  he  thought 

7  & 

ahout  the  awl  and  the  axe  and  the  shoemaker's 
wax,  and  the  pegs  and  the  leather  that  were 
found  close  together.  So  he  said  to  the  beautiful 
girl:- 

" '  Just  sit  here  a  little  while,  and  I  '11  see  if  I 
can't  get  you  a  shoe  to  fit  your  foot.  But  I  must 
have  the  other  shoe  as  a  pattern  to  work  by.' 

"  At  first  the  girl  did  n't  want  to  trust  him 
with  the  shoe,  but  she  saw  that  he  was  in  earnest, 
and  so  she  pulled  off  the  only  shoe  she  had  and 
placed  it  in  Smat's  hands.  He  saw  at  once  that 
the  leather  he  had  was  a  match  for  that  in  the 
shoe,  and  he  set  to  work  with  a  light  heart, — 
with  a  light  heart,  but  his  hand  was  heavy. 
And  yet,  somehow  or  other,  he  found  that  he 
knew  all  about  making  shoes,  although  he  had 
never  learned  how.  The  leather  fitted  itself  to 
the  last,  and  everything  went  smoothly.  But  the 
beautiful  girl,  instead  of  feeling  happy  that  she 
would  soon  have  a  mate  to  her  shoe,  began  to 
grow  sad.  She  sat  in  a  corner  with  her  head 


"HAVE   YOU   SEEN   ANYTHING   OF   A    STRAY   SHOE? 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  233 

between  her  hands  and  her  hair  hanging  down  to 

O       o 

her  feet,  and  sighed  every  time  Srnat  bored  a  hole 
in  the  leather  with  his  awl  or  drove  in  a  peg. 
Finally,  when  he  handed  her  the  shoe  entirely 
finished,  she  looked  at  it,  sighed,  and  let  it  fall 
from  her  hands. 

"<0f  course,'  said  Smat,  'I  don't  feel  bad 
over  a  little  thing  like  that.  But  you  don't  have 
to  pay  anything  for  the  shoe,  and  you  don't  have 
to  wear  it  unless  you  want  to.' 

"  '  Oh,  it  is  not  that,'  cried  the  beautiful  girl. 
6  The  shoe  will  do  very  well,  but  the  moment  I 
put  it  on,  your  troubles  will  begin.' 

"  '  Well/  replied  Smat,  '  we  must  have  troubles 
of  some  sort  anyhow,  and  the  sooner  they  begin, 
the  sooner  they  '11  be  ended.  So  put  on  your 
shoe.' 

"  Now,  it  happened  that  just  as  the  girl  put 
on  the  shoe,  which  fitted  her  foot  exactly,  King 
Stuff  and  his  councilors  came  driving  up  to  the 
door.  King  Stuff  was  not  a  large  man,  but  he 
was  very  fierce-looking.  He  called  out  from  his 
carriage  of  state  and  asked  what  sort  of  a  person 
lived  in  that  house  that  he  could  n't  come  out 
and  salute  when  the  king  and  his  councilors  went 


234  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

riding  by.  Smat  went  to  the  door  and  bowed  as 
politely  as  he  could,  and  said  that  he  would  have 
been  glad  to  bow  and  salute,  if  he  had  known  his 
royal  highness  and  their  excellent  excellencies  in 
tended  to  honor  his  poor  house  even  so  much  as 
to  pass  by  it.  The  king  and  his  councilors  looked 
at  one  another  and  shook  their  heads. 

" 6  This  man  is  none  of  us,'  said  the  oldest  and 
wisest  of  the  councilors.  '  We  must  be  careful.' 

"  '  How  long  have  you  lived  here  ? '  asked  the 
king. 

" '  Longer  than  I  wanted  to/  replied  Smat. 
6  My.  house  is  so  far  from  the  palace  that  I  have 
not  been  able  to  call  and  pay  my  respects  to  your 
majesty.' 

"  '  I  see  you  are  a  maker  of  shoes,'  remarked 
the  king,  seeing  the  awl  in  Smat's  hand. 

" ( No,  your  majesty,  not  a  maker  of  shoes,  but 
simply  a  shoemaker.  Thus  far  I  have  succeeded 
in  making  only  one  shoe.' 

"  At  this  the  king1  and  his  councilors  began  to 

O  C5 

shake  and  tremble.  f  What  was  the  prophecy  ?  ' 
cried  the  king  to  the  oldest  and  wisest.  '  Repeat 
it!' 

"  The   oldest   and   the  wisest  closed  his  eyes, 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  235 

allowed  his  head  to  drop  to  one  side,  and  said  in 
solemn  tones  :  — 

'  Wherever  you  go,  and  whatever  you  do, 
Beware  of  the  man  that  makes  but  one  shoe  ; 
Beware  of  the  man  with  the  awl  and  the  axe, 
With  the  pegs  and  the  leather  and  the  shoemaker's  wax. 
If  you  're  out  of  your  palace  when  you  meet  this  man, 
You  'd  better  get  back  as  fast  as  you  can.' 

"  Smat  felt  very  much  like  laughing  at  the 
solemn  way  in  which  the  oldest  and  wisest  coun 
cilor  repeated  this  prophecy,  or  whatever  it  might 
be  called.  '  Your  majesty  need  n't  be  worried 
about  that  prophecy/  said  he.  '  It 's  the  easiest 
thing  in  the  world  to  break  the  force  of  it.' 

"  '  How  ?  '  asked  the  king. 

"  '  Why,  having  made  one  shoe,  I  '11  go  to  work 
and  make  another,'  replied  Smat. 

"  The  oldest  and  wisest  of  the  councilors  said 
that  was  a  pretty  good  plan,  —  anyhow,  it  was 
worth  trying.  Smat  promised  to  make  another 
shoe,  and  have  it  ready  in  two  days.  But  this 
was  easier  said  than  done.  In  the  first  place,  he 
had  used  nearly  all  his  leather  in  making  a  shoe 

•'  O 

for  the  beautiful  girl.     In  the  second  place,  the 
awl  point  would  n't  stay  in  the  handle.     In  the 


236  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

third  place,  the  pegs  split  and  broke  every  time 
he  tried  to  drive  them,  and  the  shoemaker's  wax 
would  n't  stick.  Everything  went  wrong  at  first 
and  grew  worse  at  last,  so  that  when  the  king 
sent  his  officers  for  the  shoe  it  was  no  nearer  done 
than  it  had  been  before  Sinat  be^an. 

o 

"  The  beautiful  girl  had  not  gone  very  far 
away,  and  she  came  every  day  to  see  how  Sniat 
prospered  in  making  the  second  shoe.  She  was 
watching  him  when  the  king's  officers  came  for 
the  shoe,  and  when  she  saw  them  she  began  to 

7  O 

weep.  But  Smat  looked  as  cheerful  as  ever,  and 
even  began  to  whistle  when  the  officers  knocked 
at  the  door. 

" '  We  are  in  a  fix,'  said  he,  '  but  we  '11  get 
out  of  it.  Lend  me  the  shoe  I  made  for  you. 
I  '11  send  that  to  the  king  and  then  get  it  back 
again.' 

"  The  girl  tried  to  take  the  shoe  from  her  foot, 
but  nothing  would  move  it.  '  That  is  a  sign/ 
said  Smat,  '  that  it  ought  not  to  come  off.  I  '11 
just  go  to  the  king  myself  and  tell  him  the  facts 
in  the  case.  That  is  the  best  way.' 

"  So  he  gathered  the  awl  and  the  axe  and  the 
shoemaker's  wax,  and  the  scraps  of  leather,  and 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  237 

bundled  them  together.  Then  he  told  the  officers 
that  he  would  go  with  them  and  carry  the  shoe 
himself,  so  as  to  be  sure  that  it  came  safely  into 
the  king's  hands.  They  went  toward  the  palace, 
and  Smat  noticed,  as  they  went  along,  that  it 
grew  darker  and  darker  as  they  came  nearer  to 
the  palace.  The  officers  seemed  to  notice  it  too. 
By  the  time  they  reached  the  palac*e,  it  was  so 
dark  that  Smat  had  great  trouble  in  keeping  up 
with  the  officers. 

"  There  was  great  commotion  in  the  palace. 
Nobody  had  ever  seen  it  so  dark  before  except 
just  at  the  stroke  of  midnight,  when  the  shadows 
grow  thick  and  heavy  and  run  together  and  over 
everything. 

"  Now,  old  King  Stuff  was  a  sort  of  magician 
himself  (as,  indeed,  he  had  to  be  in  those  times, 
in  order  to  manage  a  kingdom  properly),  and  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  great  darkness  coming  on  at 
the  wrong  time  of  day,  he  thought  at  once  of  the 
prophecy  in  regard  to  the  man  who  made  but  one 
shoe.  So  he  hustled  and  bustled  around  the 
palace,  calling  for  the  officers  he  had  sent  after 
the  shoe.  But  nobody  had  seen  them  return  be 
fore  the  dark  began  to  fall,  and  after  that  it  was 
impossible  to  see  them. 


238  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  In  the  midst  of  it  all,  the  officers,  followed 
by  Smat,  stumbled  into  the  palace  and  went 
groping  about  from  room  to  room  hunting  for 
old  King  Stuff  and  his  ministers.  At  last,  they 
heard  him  grumbling  and  growling,  and  felt  their 
way  toward  him. 

"  '  The  shoe  !  the  shoe  ! '  cried  King  Stuff, 
when  the  officers  had  made  themselves  known. 

"  (  I  have  something  that  will  answer  just  as 
well/  said  Smat. 

"  '  The  shoe !  give  me  the  shoe ! '  cried  the 
king. 

"'  Take  this,  your  majesty/  said  Smat,  handing 
him  the  bundle. 

"  No  sooner  had  the  king's  hands  touched  the 
bundle  than  there  was  a  rumbling1  noise  in  the 

o 

air,  the  building  began  to  shake  and  totter  and 
crumble  away.  In  the  midst  of  it  all  some  one 
cried  out  in  a  loud  voice  :  — 

*  Wherever  you  go,  and  whatever  you  do, 
Beware  of  the  man  that  makes  but  one  shoe  ! ' 

"  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  King  Stuff  and 
his  army  and  his  palace  had  disappeared  from 
sight.  At  the  same  time  the  darkness  had  cleared 


THE  SHOEMAKER.  239 

away,  and  Smat  saw  his  father  and  his  brother 
standing  near,  dazed  and  frightened,  and  not  far 

O  7  O  ' 

away  was  the  beautiful  girl.  The  father  and  the 
brother  were  very  much  astonished  when  they 
found  that  Smat  had  been  the  means  of  their 
rescue.  They  talked  about  it  until  night  fell, 
and  then  the  Man  in  the  Moon,  with  his  tiny  lan 
tern-bearers,  came  and  escorted  them  to  their  own 
country. 

"  Now  it  happened  that  the  beautiful  girl  was 
a  princess,  the  daughter  of  the  king.  It  fell  to 
the  lot  of  Smat  to  take  the  princess  home.  Not 
long  after  that  the  king  gave  a  great  festival,  to 
celebrate  the  return  of  his  daughter.  Smat's 
father  and  brother  got  close  enough  to  the  palace 
to  see  him  standing  in  a  large  room,  where  there 
was  a  large  crowd  of  people  and  music  and 
flowers.  They  saw,  too,  that  he  was  holding  the 
princess  by  the  hand. 

"  And  so,"  said  little  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  wiping 
the  perspiration  from  his  forehead,  "  the  story 
ended." 


XX. 

THE    WOOG    AND    THE    WEEZE. 

"  PHEW  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Rabbit,  when  he  was 
sure  that  little  Mr.  Thimblefinger  had  finished, 
"  That  beats  anything  I  ever  heard." 

"  I  'm  glad  you  like  it,"  said  Mr.  Thimble- 
finger. 

"  Oh,  hold  on  there ! "  protested  Mr.  Rabbit, 
"  you  are  going  too  fast.  I  never  said  I  liked  it. 
I  said  it  beat  any  story  I  ever  heard,  and  so  it 
does,  —  for  length.  I  did  n't  know  that  such  a 
little  chap  could  be  so  long-winded.  It  was  such 
a  long  story  that  I  've  forgotten  what  the  moral 
ought  to  be." 

"  Why,  I  thought  you  said  you  did  n't  believe 
much  in  stories  that  had  morals  tacked  to  them," 
remarked  Mrs.  Meadows. 

"  No  doubt  I  did,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  — "no 
doubt  I  did.  But  this  story  was  long  enough 
to  have  a  dozen  morals  cropping  out  in  different 
places,  like  dog  fennel  in  a  cow  pasture." 


THE   WOOG  AND   THE    WEEZE.  241 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "  tfcere  was  a 
moral  or  two  in  the  story,  but  I  did  n't  call  atten 
tion  to  them  in  the  telling,  and  1 11  not  dwell  on 
them  now." 

"  I  thought  it  was  a  tolerably  fair  story,"  said 
Buster  John,  yet  with  a  tone  of  doubt. 

"  Oh,  I  thought  it  was  splendid  all  the  way 
through,"  said  Sweetest  Susan. 

"  There  are  some  stories  that  are  hard  to  tell," 
suggested  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  They  go  in  such  a 
rambledy-wambledy  way  that  it  's  not  easy  to 
keep  the  track  of  them.  I  remember  I  once  heard 
Chickamy  Crany  Crow  trying  to  repeat  a  story 
that  she  heard  the  Looking-glass  Children  tell. 
I  never  found  head  nor  tail  to  it,  but  I  sat  and 
listened  almost  without  shutting  my  eyes." 

"  What  was  the  story  ?  "  asked  Sweetest  Susan. 

In  reply,  Mrs.  Meadows  said  she  would  call 
Chickamy  Crany  Crow,  and  ask  her  to  tell  it. 
As  usual,  Chickamy  Crany  Crow  was  off  at  play 
with  Tickle-My-Toes.  They  both  came  when 
Mrs.  Meadows  called  them,  and  Chickamy  Crany 
Crow,  after  some  persuasion,  began  to  tell  the 
story. 

"One  day,"  she  said,  brushing  her  hair  behind 


242  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

her  ears  ^with  her  fingers,  "  I  wanted  to  see  the 
Looking-glass  Children.  Tickle-My-Toes  was  off 
playing  by  himself,  and  I  was  lonesome ;  so  I 
went  to  the  Looking-glass,  whirled  it  around  in 
its  frame,  and  waited  for  the  children  to  come 
out.  But  they  did  n't  come.  I  called  them,  but 
they  made  no  answer.  I  went  close  to  the  Glass, 
and  looked  in.  At  first,  I  could  n't  see  anything; 
but  after  a  while  I  saw,  away  off  in  the  Glass, 
one  of  the  children,  —  the  one  they  all  say  looks 
like  me.  I  called  her ;  but  she  was  so  far  off  in 
the  Glass  that  she  could  n't  hear  me,  and,  as  she 
had  her  face  turned  the  other  way,  she  could  n't 
see  me. 

"  After  so  long  a  time,  she  came  up  to  the 
frame  of  the  Glass,  and  then  stepped  out  and  sat 
down  on  the  ground.  I  saw  she  had  been  crying. 

66  Says  I,  '  Honey,  what  in  the  world  is  the 
matter  ?  '  I  always  call  her  Honey  when  we  are 
by  ourselves. 

"  Says  she,  '  There  's  enough  the  matter.  I'm 
e'en  about  scared  to  death, 'and  I  expect  that  all 
the  other  children  in  this  Looking-glass  are  either 
captured,  or  killed,  or  scared  to  death.' 

"  Says  I,  '  Why  did  n't  you  holler  for  help  ? ' 


THE   WOOG  AND   THE   WEEZE.  243 

"  Says  she,  '  What  good  would  that  have  done  ? 
You  all  could  help  us  very  well  on  dry  land,  out 
here,  but  how  could  you  have  helped  us  in  the 
Looking-glass,  when  you  can't  even  get  in  at 
the  door?  I 've  seen  you  try  to  follow  us,  but 
you  've  always  failed.  You  stop  at  the  Glass, 
and  you  can't  get  any  farther.' 

"  Says  I,  6  You  are  right  about  that ;  but  if 
we  outside  folks  can't  get  in  the  Glass  to  play 
with  you  and  keep  you  company,  how  can  any 
body  or  anything  get  in  there  to  scare  you  and 
hurt  you  ? ' 

66  Says  she,  '  The  thing  that  scared  us  has  been 
in  there  all  the  time.  It  was  born  in  there,  I 
reckon,  but  I  've  never  seen  it  before  ;  and  I  tell 
you  right  now  I  never  want  to  see  it  again.' 

"  Says  I,  '  What  sort  of  a  thing  is  it  ? ' 

" Says  she  in  a  whisper,  ' It's  the Woog ! ' 

"'  The  what?'  says  I. 

"  '  The  Woog  !  '  says  she. 

"  Says  I,  '  It 's  new  to  me.  I  never  heard  of  it 
before.' 

"  Says  she,  '  To  hear  of  it  is  as  close  as  you 
want  to  get  to  it.' 

"  Why,  I   heard  of  the  Woog  in  my  younger 


244  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

days,"  remarked  Mr.  Thimblefinger.     "  I  thought 
the  thing'  had  gone  out  of  fashion." 

"  Don't  you  believe  a  word  of  it,"  said  Chick- 
amy  Crany  Crow.  "  It 's  just  as  much  in  fashion 
now  as  ever  it  was,  especially  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year.  The  little  girl  in  the  Looking-glass  — 
I  say  little  girl,  though  she  's  about  my  size  and 
shape  —  told  me  all  about  it ;  and  as  she  lives  in 
the  same  country  with  the  Woog,  she  ought  to 
know." 

"  What  did  she  say  about  it  ?  "  asked  Buster 
John,  who  had  a  vague  idea  that  he  might  some 
day  be  able  to  organize  an  expedition  to  go  in 
search  of  the  Woog. 

"  Well,"  replied  Chickamy  Crany  Crow,  "  she 
said  this,  —  she  said  that  she  and  the  other  chil 
dren  were  sitting  under  the  shade  of  a  bazzle- 
bush  in  the  Looking-glass,  telling  fairy  stories. 
It  had  come  her  turn  to  tell  a  story,  and  she  was 
trying  to  remember  the  one  about  the  little  girl 
who  had  a  silk  dress  made  out  of  a  muscadine 
skin,  when  all  of  a  sudden  there  was  a  roaring 
noise  in  the  bushes  near  by.  While  they  were 
shaking  with  fright,  a  most  horrible  monster  came 
rushing  out,  and  glared  at  them,  growling  all  the 


A    HORRIBLE    MONSTER   GLARED   AT  THEM 


THE   WOOG  AND   THE    WEEZE.  245 

while.  It  wore  great  green  goggles.  Its  hair 
stood  out  from  its  head  on  all  sides,  except  in  the 
bald  place  on  top,  and  its  ears  stuck  out  as  big  as 
the  wings  of  a  buzzard. 

c5 

" '  Do  you  know  who  I  am  ? '  it  growled. 
'  No,  you  don't ;  but  I  '11  show  you.  I  am  the 
Woog.  Do  you  hear  that  ?  The  Woog  !  Don't 
forget  that.  What  did  I  hear  you  talking  about 
just  now  ?  You  were  talking  about  fairies. 
Don't  say  you  were  n't,  for  I  heard  you.' 

" '  Well,'  says  one  of  the  Looking-glass  Chil 
dren,  '  what  harm  is  there  in  that  ?  ' 

"  '  Harm  !  '  screamed  the  Woog.  '  Do  you 
want  to  defy  me  ?  I  have  caught  and  killed  and 
crushed  and  smoked  out  all  the  fairies  that  ever 
lived  on  the  earth,  except  a  few  that  have  hid 
themselves  in  this  Looking-glass  country.  What 
harm,  indeed !  —  a  pretty  question  to  ask  me, 
when  I  've  spent  years  and  years  trying  to  run 
down  and  smother  out  the  whole  fairy  tribe.' 

"  The  Looking-glass  Children,"  Chickamy 
Crany  Crow  continued,  "  told  the  Woog  that  they 
did  n't  know  there  was  any  harm  in  the  fairies 
themselves,  or  in  talking  about  them.  The  Woog 
paid  no  attention  to  their  apologies.  He  just 


246  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

stood  and  glared  at  them  through  his  green  gog- 

O  O  O  O      O 

gles,  gnashing  his  teeth  and  clenching  his  hands. 

"  Says  the  monster  after  awhile,  '  How  dare 
any  of  you  wish  that  you  could  see  a  fairy,  or 
that  you  had  a  fairy  godmother  ?  What  shall  I 
do  with  you?  I  crushed  a  whole  population  of 
fairies  between  the  lids  of  this  book  ?  (he  held 
up  a  big  book,  opened  it,  and  clapped  it  together 
again  so  hard  that  it  sounded  like  some  one  had 
fired  off  a  gun),  'and  I  've  a  great  mind  to 
smash  every  one  of  you  good-for-nothing  children 
the  same  way.' 

"  You  may  be  sure  that  by  this  time  the  poor 
little  Looking-glass  Children  were  very  much 
frightened,  especially  when  they  saw  that  the 
Woog  was  fixing  to  make  an  attack  on  them. 

O  O 

He  dropped  his  big  book,  and  when  the  children 
saw  him  do  this  they  broke  and  run  :  some  went 
one  way  and  some  another.  The  last  they  saw  of 
him,  he  was  rushing  through  the  bushes  like  a 
blind  horse,  threshing  his  arms  about,  and  doing 

'  O  7  O 

more  damage  to  himself  than  to  anybody  else. 
But  the  children  had  a  terrible  scare,  and  if  he 
has  n't  made  way  with  some  of  them  it 's  not 
because  he  is  too  good  to  do  it." 


THE   WOOG  AND   THE   WEEZE.  247 

"  The  poor  dears  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Meadows 
sy  m  pathetically . 

"  Dat  ar  creetur  can't  come  out  'n  dat  Lookin'- 
glass  like  de  yuthers,  kin  he?"  inquired  Drusilla, 
moving  about  uneasily :  "  kaze  ef  he  kin,  I  'm 
gwine  'way  fum  here.  I  dun  seed  so  many  quare 
doin's  an'  gwine's  on  dat  I  '11  jump  an'  holler  ef 
anybody  pints  der  finger  at  me." 

"Well,  Tar-Baby,"  replied  Mr.  Eabbit  with 
some  dignity,  "  he  has  n't  never  come  out  yet. 
That 's  all  that  can  be  said  in  that  line.  He  may 
come  out,  but  if  he  does  you  '11  be  in  no  danger 
at  all.  The  Woog  would  never  mistake  you  for 
a  fairy,  no  matter  whether  he  had  his  green 
goggles  on  or  whether  he  had  them  off." 

"  No  matter  'bout  dat,"  remarked  Drusilla. 
"  I  may  n't  look  like  no  fairy,  but  I  don't  want 
no  Woog  fer  ter  be  cuttin'  up  no  capers  'roun' 
me.  I  tell  you  dat,  an'  I  don't  charge  nothin' 
fer  tellin'  it.  Black  folks  don't  stan'  much  chance 
wid  clem  what  knows  'em,  let  'lone  dem  ar  Woog 
an'  things  what  don't  know  'em.  Ef  you  all  hear 
'im  comin',  des  give  de  word,  and  I  boun'  you  '11 
say  ter  yo'se'f  dat  Drusilla  got  wings.  Now  you 
min'  dat." 


248  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  What  does  the  Woog  want  to  kill  the  fairies 
for  ?  "  asked  Sweetest  Susan.  "  He  must  be  very 
mean  and  cruel." 

"  He  's  all  of  that,  and  more/'  replied  Mrs. 
Meadows.  "  The  fairies  please  the  children,  and 
give  them  something  beautiful  to  think  about  in 
the  day  and  to  dream  about  at  night,  and  the 
Woog  does  n't  like  that.  He  hates  the  fairies 
because  it  pleases  the  children  to  hear  about 
them,  and  he  hates  the  children  because  they  like 
to  hear  about  the  fairies." 

"  Well,  I  never  want  to  see  him  until  I  am  big 
enough  to  tote  a  gun,"  said  Buster  John.  "  After 
that,  I  don't  care  how  soon  I  meet  him." 

"  Now,"  remarked  Mr.  Rabbit,  turning  to  Mrs. 
Meadows  with  a  solemn  air,  "  did  n't  you  say 
that  all  this  about  the  Woog  was  a  tale,  or  some 
thing  of  that  sort." 

"I  believe  I  did,"  replied  Mrs.  Meadows. 
"What  about  it?" 

"Just  this,"  said  Mr.  Rabbit, —"a  tale  's  a 
tale,  and  it  never  stops  until  all  is  told." 

"  If  that  's  the  case,  I  've  heard  some  here 
that  overshot  the  mark,"  remarked  Mrs.  Mead 
ows. 


THE   WOOG  AND   THE   WEEZE.  249 

"  No  doubt,  no  doubt,"  responded  Mr.  Rabbit. 
"  But  what  became  of  the  Woog  ?  " 

"  I  know  !  I  know  !  "  cried  Tickle-My-Toes, 
who  had  been  listening  to  all  that  was  said  about 
the  Woog;. 

o 

"  Very  well ;  let  's  hear  about  it,"  suggested 
Mr.  Rabbit. 

"  'T  aint  much,"  said  Tickle-My-Toes  modestly. 
"  The  chap  in  the  Looking-glass  that  looks  like 
me,  he  was  the  one  that  fell  into  the  hands  or  the 
claws  of  the  Woog.  He  could  have  got  away 
with  the  rest,  but  a  piece  of  straw  was  caught 
between  his  toes,  and  it  tickled  him  so  that  he 
laughed  until  he  could  n't  run.  He  just  fell  on 
the  ground  and  rolled  over  and  over,  laughing  all 
the  time.  In  this  way  the  Woog  caught  up  with 
him  and  grabbed  him,  and  carried  him  away  off 
in  the  woods  in  the  Looking-glass  country.  They 
were  away  off  in  that  part  of  the  country  where 
there  was  no  green  grass  on  the  ground.  There 
were  no  green  leaves  on  the  trees,  no  flowers 
blooming,  and  no  birds  singing. 

"  The  Woog  carried  the  little  chap  that  looks 
like  me  to  that  dark  place,  and  nearly  scared  him 
to  death. 


250  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  You  pretend  to  be  something1  or  somebody, 
do  you? — you,  a  shadow  in  a  glass/  growled  the 
Woog. 

"  '  I  'm  what  I  am/  said  the  little  chap. 

"  '  You  are  not/  cried  the  Woog.  '  You  are 
nothing.  Why  do  you  pretend  to  be  somebody 
or  something  ? ' 

"  The  little  chap  did  n't  say  anything  in  reply, 
because  there  was  nothing  to  say.  There 's  no  use 
in  disputing  when  you  can't  help  yourself.  So 
the  Woog  took  him  and  tied  him  to  a  dead  tree, 
leaving  his  big  book  lying  near.  There  is  no 
telling  what  would  have  happened  to  the  little 
chap ;  but  just  as  soon  as  the  Woog  got  out  of 
sight,  a  strong,  tall  man,  with  gray  hair  combed 
straight  back  over  his  head,  suddenly  made  his 
appearance,  and  untied  the  cords,  and  set  the 
little  chap  free. 

"  '  Don't  be  frightened/  said  the  tall  man  ;  '  I 
am  the  Weeze.  I  have  been  hunting1  the  Woog 

O  O 

for  many  a  long  day,  and  now  I  think  I  '11  put 
an  end  to  him.' 

"  Presently  the  Woog  came  back  growling  and 
grumbling.  When  he  looked  up  and  saw  the 
Weeze,  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  escape.  But  he 


THE    WOOG  AND   THE   WEEZE.  251 

turned  and  tried  to  run.  Just  then  the  Weeze 
seized  the  big  book  and  threw  it  at  the  Woog. 
As  it  hit  him,  there*  was  a  big  explosion,  and  the 
Woog  and  his  big  book  both  disappeared. 

66  The  little  chap  that  looks  like  me,"  said 
Tickle-My-Toes,  "  was  telling  me  about  it  to-day ; 
and  he  said  that  it  was  n't  long  after  the  explo 
sion  before  the  flowers  began  to  bloom  in  that 

o 

place,  and  the  birds  to  sing,  and  the  leaves  be 
gan  to  grow  on  the  trees.  And  after  awhile  the 
fairies  began  to  peep  out  from  their  hiding- 
places  ;  and  when  the  little  chap  came  away  he 
could  see  them  playing  Ring-Around-Rosy  on  the 
green  grass. 

"It  was  mighty  funny,  wasn't  it?"  asked 
Tickle-My-Toes,  in  conclusion. 


XXI. 

UNCLE    RAIN    AND    BROTHER    DROUTH. 

"  Now  I  'm  not  so  mighty  certain  that  that  is  a 
real  tale  after  all,"  said  Mr.  Rabbit,  "although  it 
took  two  to  tell  it.  There  's  something  the  mat 
ter  with  it  somewhere.  The  running-gear  is  out 
of  order.  I  'm  not  complaining,  because  what 
might  suit  me  might  not  suit  other  people.  It 's 
all  a  matter  of  taste,  as  Mrs.  Meadows' s  grand- 

7  O 

mother  said  when  she  wiped  her  mouth  with  her 
apron  and  kissed  the  cow." 

"  Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "  there  's 
no  telling  what  happens  in  a  Looking-glass  when 
nobody  is  watching.  I  've  often  wanted  to  know. 
The  little  that  I  've  heard  about  the  Woog  and 
the  Weeze  will  do  me  until  I  can  hear  more." 

"  I  remember  a  story  that  I  thought  was  a 
very  good  one  when  I  first  heard  it,"  said  Mrs. 
Meadows.  "But  sometimes  a  great  deal  more 
depends  on  the  time,  place,  and  company  than 
on  the  stories  that  are  told.  I  'm  such  a  poor 


UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER  DROUTH.    253 
hand  at  telling  tales  that  I  'm  almost  afraid  to  tell 

o 

any  that  I  know.  I  've  heard  a  great  many  in 
my  day  and  time,  but  the  trouble  is  to  pick  out 
them  that  don't  depend  on  a  wink  of  the  eye  and 
a  wave  of  the  hand." 

"  Give  us  a  taste  of  it,  anyhow,"  suggested 
Mr.  Eabbit.  "  I  '11  do  the  winking,  the  Tar-Baby 
can  do  the  blinking,  and  Mr.  Thimblefinger  can 
wave  his  hands." 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows,  "  once  upon  a 
time  there  lived  in  a  country  not  very  far  from 
here  a  man  who  had  a  wife  and  two  children,  — 
a  boy  and  a  girl.  This  was  not  a  large  family, 
but  the  man  was  very  poor,  and  he  found  it  a  hard 
matter  to  get  along.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  farm 
ing,  no  matter  what  they  say,  depends  almost 
entirely  on  the  weather.  Now,  this  farmer  never 
could  get  the  weather  he  wanted.  One  year  the 
Rain  would  come  and  drown  out  his  crops,  and 
the  next  year  the  Drouth  would  come  and  burn 
them  up. 

"  Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse,  and  the 
farmer  and  his  wife  talked  of  nothing  else  but 
the  Rain  arid  the  Drouth.  One  year  they  said 
they  would  have  made  a  living  but  for  the 


254  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

Drouth,  and  the  next  they  said  they  would  have 
been  very  well  off  but  for  the  Rain.  So  it  went 
on  from  year  to  year  until  the  two  children, — 
the  boy  and  the  girl,  —  grew  up  large  enough 
to  understand  what  their  father  and  mother  were 
talking  about.  One  year  they  'd  hear  they  could 
have  no  Sunday  clothes  and  shoes  because  of  the 
Drouth.  The  next  year  they  'd  hear  thev  could 
have  no  shoes  and  Sunday  clothes  because  of  the 
Rain. 

"  All  this  set  them  to  thinking.  The  boy  was 
about  ten  years  old  and  the  girl  was  about  nine. 
One  day  at  their  play  they  began  to  talk  as  they 
had  heard  their  father  and  mother  talk.  It  was 
early  in  the  spring,  and  their  father  was  even 
then  ploughing  and  preparing  his  fields  for  plant 
ing  another  crop. 

" '  We  will  have  warm  shoes  and  good  clothes 
next  winter  if  the  Rain  does  n't  come  and  stay 
too  long,'  said  the  boy. 

"  '  Yes,'  replied  the  girl,  '  and  we  '11  have  good 
clothes  and  warm  shoes  if  the  Drouth  does  n't 
come  and  stay  too  long.' 

"  '  I  wonder  why  they  've  got  such  a  spite 
against  us,'  remarked  the  boy. 


UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER  DROUTH.     255 

"'I'm  sure  I  don't  know,'  replied  the  girl. 
*  If  we  go  and  see  them,  and  tell  them  who  we 
are,  and  beg  them  not  to  make  us  so  cold  and 
hungry  when  the  ice  grows  in  the  ponds  and  on 
the  trees,  maybe  they  '11  take  pity  on  us.' 

"  This  plan  pleased  the  boy,  and  the  two  chil 
dren  continued  to  talk  it  over,  until  finally  they 
agreed  to  go  in  search  of  the  Rain  and  the 

o  o 

Drouth.  '  Do  you,'  said  the  boy,  '  go  in  search 
of  Brother  Drouth,  and  I  will  go  in  search  of 
Uncle  Rain.  When  we  have  found  them,  we 
must  ask  them  to  visit  our  father's  house  and 
farm,  and  see  the  trouble  and  ruin  they  have 
caused.' 

"  To  this  the  girl  agreed ;  and  early  the  next 
morning,  after  eating  a  piece  of  corn  bread,  which 
was  all  they  had  for  breakfast,  they  started  on 
their  journey,  the  boy  going  to  the  east  and  the 
girl  to  the  south.  The  boy  traveled  a  long  way, 
and  for  many  days.  Sometimes  he  thought  he 
would  never  come  to  the  end  of  his  journey,*  but 
finally  he  came  to  Cousin  Mist's  house,  and  there 
he  inquired  his  way. 

"  £  What  do  you  want  with  Uncle  Rain  ? '  asked 
Cousin  Mist.  '  He  is  holding  court  now,  and  he 


256  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

is  very  busy.  Besides,  you  are  not  dressed 
properly.  When  people  go  to  court,  they  have 
to  wear  a  certain  kind  of  dress.  In  your  case, 
you  ought  to  have  a  big  umbrella  and  an  oil 
cloth  overcoat/ 

u  *  Well/  replied  the  boy,  '  I  have  n't  got  'em, 
and  that  's  the  end  of  that  part  of  it.  If  you  '11 
show  me  the  way  to  Uncle  Rain's  house,  I  '11  go 
on  and  be  much  obliged  to  boot.' 

"  Cousin  Mist  looked  at  the  boy  and  laughed. 
'  You  are  a  bold  lad,'  he  said,  '  and  since  you  are 
so  bold,  I  '11  lend  you  an  umbrella  and  an  oil 
cloth  overcoat,  and  go  a  part  of  the  way  with 
you.' 

"  So  the  boy  put  on  the  overcoat  and  hoisted 
the  umbrella,  and  trudged  along  the  muddy  road 
toward  the  house  of  Uncle  Rain.  When  they 
came  in  sight  of  it,  Cousin  Mist  pointed  it  out, 
told  the  boy  good-by,  and  then  went  drizzling 
back  home.  The  boy  went  forward  boldly,  and 
knocked  at  the  door  of  Uncle  Rain's  house. 

"  '  Who  is  there  ?  '  inquired  Uncle  Rain  in  a 
hoarse  and  wheezy  voice.  He  seemed  to  have  the 
asthma,  the  choking  quinsy,  and  the  croup,  all 
at  the  same  time. 


UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER   DROUTH.     257 

"  '  It 's  only  me/  said  the  boy.  '  Please,  Uncle 
Rain,  open  the  door.' 

66  With  that,  Uncle  Rain  opened  the  door  and 
invited  the  little  fellow  in.  He  did  more  than 
that :  he  went  to  the  closet  and  got  out  a  dry 
spot,  and  told  the  boy  to  make  himself  as  comfort 
able  as  he  could." 

"  Got  out  a  —  what  ?  "  asked  Buster  John, 
trying  hard  to  keep  from  laughing. 

"  A  dry  spot,"  replied  Mrs.  Meadows  solemnly. 
"  Uncle  Rain  went  to  the  closet  and  got  out  a 
dry  spot.  Of  course,"  she  continued,  "  Uncle 
Rain  had  to  keep  a  supply  of  dry  spots  on  hand, 
so  as  to  make  his  visitors  comfortable.  It  's  a 
great  thing  to  be  polite.  Well,  the  boy  sat  on 
the  dry  spot,  and,  after  some  remarks  about  the 
weather,  Uncle  Rain  asked  him  why  he  had  come 
so  far  over  the  rough  roads.  Then  the  boy  told 
Uncle  Rain  the  whole  story  about  how  poor  his 
father  was,  and  how  he  had  been  made  poorer 
year  after  year,  first  by  Brother  Drouth  and  then 
by  Uncle  Rain.  And  then  he  told  how  he  and 
his  little  sister  had  to  go  without  shoes  and  wear 
thin  clothes  in  cold  weather,  all  because  the  crops 
were  ruined  year  after  year,  either  by  Brother 
Drouth  or  Uncle  Rain. 


258  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  He  told  his  story  so  simply  and  with  so  much 
feeling  that  Uncle  Rain  was  compelled  to  wipe 
his  eyes  on  a  corner  of  the  fog  that  hung  on  the 
towel  rack  behind  the  door.  He  asked  the  boy  a 
great  many  questions  about  his  father  and  his 
mother. 

"  '  I  reckon/  said  Uncle  Rain  finally,  ( that  I 
have  done  all  of  you  a  great  deal  of  damage 
without  knowing  it,  but  I  think  I  can  pay  it 
back.  Bring  the  dry  spot  with  you,  and  come 
with  me.'  He  went  into  the  barnyard,  and  the 
boy  followed.  They  went  into  the  barn,  and 
there  the  boy  saw,  tied  by  a  silver  cord,  a  little 
black  sheep.  It  was  very  small,  but  seemed  to 
be  full  grown,  because  it  had  long  horns  that 
curled  round  and  round  on  the  sides  of  its  head. 
And,  although  the  horns  were  long  and  hard,  the 
little  sheep  was  very  friendly.  It  rubbed  its  head 
softly  against  the  boy's  hand,  and  seemed  to  be 
fond  of  him  at  first  sight. 

"  Uncle  Rain  untied  the  silver  cord,  and  placed 
the  loose  end  in  the  boy's  hand.  '  Here  is  a 
sheep/  he  said,  '  that  is  worth  more  than  all  the 
flocks  in  the  world.  When  you  want  gold,  all 
you  have  to  do  is  to  press  the  golden  spring 


THE    BOY  TOLD   UNCLE   RAIN   THE   WHOLE   STORY 


UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER  DROUTH.    259 

under  the  left  horn.  The  horn  will  then  come 
off,  and  you  will  find  it  full  of  gold.  When  you 
want  silver,  press  the  silver  spring  under  the 
right  horn.  The  horn  will  come  off,  and  you  will 
find  it  full  of  silver.  When  the  horns  have  been 
emptied,  place  them  back  where  they  belong. 
This  may  be  done  once,  twice,  or  fifty  times  a 
day.' 

"  The  boy  did  n't  know  how  to  thank  Uncle 
Rain  enough  for  this  wonderful  gift.  He  was  so 
anxious  to  get  home  that  he  would  have  started 
off  at  once. 

"  e  Wait  a  minute/  said  Uncle  Rain.  6  You 
may  tell  your  father  about  this,  but  he  must  tell 
no  one  else.  The  moment  the  secret  of  the  sheep 
is  told  outside  your  family,  it  will  no  longer  be 
valuable  to  you.' 

66  The  boy  thanked  Uncle  Rain  again,  and 
started  home,  leading  his  wonderful  sheep,  which 
trotted  along  after  him,  as  if  it  were  glad  to  go 
along.  The  boy  went  home  much  faster  than  he 
had  gone  away,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he 
reached  there." 

"But  what  became  of  the  little  girl?"  asked 
Sweetest  Susan,  as  Mrs.  Meadows  paused  a  mo 
ment. 


260  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  I  am  coming  to  her  now."  said  Mrs.  Meadows. 

O  ' 

"The  girl,  according  to  the  bargain  that  had 
been  made  between  her  and  her  brother,  was  to 
visit  Brother  Drouth,  and  lay  her  complaints  be 
fore  him.  So  she  started  on  her  way.  As  she 
went  along,  the  roads  began  to  get  drier  and 
drier,  and  the  grass  on  the  ground  and  the  leaves 
on  the  trees  began  to  look  as  if  they  had  been 
sprinkled  with  yellow  powder.  By  these  signs, 
the  girl  knew  that  she  was  not  far  from  the  house 
of  Cousin  Dust,  and  presently  she  saw  it  in  the 
distance.  She  went  to  the  door,  which  was 
open,  and  inquired  the  way  to  Brother  Drouth's. 
Cousin  Dust  was  much  surprised  to  see  a  little 
girl  at  his  door ;  but,  after  a  long  fit  of  cough 
ing,  he  recovered  himself,  and  told  her  that  she 
was  now  in  Brother  Drouth's  country. 

"  '  If  you  '11  show  me  the  way,'  said  the  girl, 
'  I  '11  be  more  than  obliged  to  you.' 

"  ( I  '11  go  a  part  of  the  way  with  you,'  said 
Cousin  Dust, (  and  lend  you  a  fan  besides.' 

"  So  they  went  along  until  they  came  in  sight 
of  Brother  Drouth's  house,  and  then  Cousin  Dust 
went  eddying  back  home  in  the  shape  of  a  small 
whirlwind.  The  girl  went  to  Brother  Drouth's 


UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER  DROUTH.    261 

door  and  knocked.  Brother  Drouth  came  at 
once  and  opened  the  door,  and  invited  her  in. 

" c  I  '11  not  deny  that  I  'm  surprised/  said  he, 
'  for  I  never  expected  to  find  a  little  girl  knock 
ing  at  my  door  at  this  time  of  day.  But  you 
are  welcome.  I  'm  glad  to  see  you.  You  must 
have  come  a  long  journey,  for  you  look  hot.' 

"  With  that  he  went  to  the  cupboard  and  got 
her  a  cool  place  to  sit  on,  and  this  she  found  very 
comfortable.  But  still  Brother  Drouth  was  n't 
satisfied.  As  his  visitor  was  a  little  girl,  he 
wanted  to  be  extra  polite,  and  so  he  went  to  his 
private  closet  and  brought  her  a  fresh  breeze  with 
a  handle  to  it ;  and,  as  the  cool  place  had  a 
cushioned  back  and  the  fresh  breeze  a  handle  that 
the  girl  could  manage,  she  felt  better  in  Brother 
Drouth's  house  than  she  had  at  any  time  during 
her  long  journey.  She  sat  there  on  the  cool 
place  and  fanned  with  the  fresh  breeze,  and 
Brother  Drouth  sat  in  his  big  armchair  and 
smiled  at  her.  The  little  girl  noticed  this  after 
awhile,  and  so  she  said  :  — 

"  '  Oh,  you  can  laugh,  but  it 's  no  laughing  mat 
ter.  If  you  could  see  the  trouble  you  've  caused 
at  our  house,  you  'd  laugh  on  the  other  side  of 
your  mouth.' 


262  ME.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  When  he  heard  this,  Brother  Drouth  at 
once  became  very  serious,  and  apologized.  He 
said  he  was  n't  laughing,  but  just  smiling  because 
he  thought  she  was  enjoying  herself. 

" '  I  may  be  enjoying  myself  now,'  said  the 
little  girl,  '  and  I  'm  much  obliged  to  you ;  but  if 
I  was  at  home,  I  should  n't  be  enjoying  myself.' 

"  Then  she  went  on  to  tell  Brother  Drouth 
how  her  father's  crops  had  been  ruined  year  after 
year,  either  by  Uncle  Rain  or  by  Brother  Drouth, 
and  how  the  family  got  poorer  and  poorer  all  the 
time  on  that  account,  so  that  the  little  children 
could  n't  have  warm  shoes  and  thick  clothes  in 
cold  weather,  but  had  to  go  barefooted  and  wear 
rags.  Brother  Drouth  listened  with  all  his  ears ; 
and  when  the  little  girl  had  told  her  story,  he 
shook  his  head,  and  said  that  he  was  to  blame 
as  well  as  Uncle  Rain.  He  explained  that,  for 
many  years,  there  had  been  a  trial  of  strength 
going  on  between  him  and  Uncle  Rain,  and  they 
had  become  so  much  interested  in  overcoming 
each  other  that  they  had  paid  no  attention  to 
poor  people's  crops.  He  said  he  was  very  sorry 
that  he  had  taken  part  in  any  such  affair.  Then 
he  told  the  little  girl  that  he  thought  he  could 


UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER  DROUTH.     263 

pay  her  back  for  a  part  of  the  damage  he  had 
done,  and  that  he  would  be  more  than  glad  to 
do  so. 

"  Says  he,  '  Bring*  your  cool  place  and  your 
fresh  breeze  with  you,  and  come  with  me.' 

"  She  followed  Brother  Drouth  out  into  the 
barnyard,  and  into  the  barn ;  and  there,  tied  by 
a  golden  cord,  she  saw  a  snow-white  goat. 

"  '  This  goat,'  said  Brother  Drouth,  '  is  worth 
more  than  all  the  goats  in  the  world,  tame  or 
wild.'  With  that  he  untied  the  golden  cord,  and 
placed  the  loose  end  in  the  girl's  hand.  The 
goat  was  small,  but  seemed  to  be  old  ;  for  it^ 
horns,  which  were  of  the  color  of  ivory,  curved 
upward  and  over  its  back.  They  were  so  long 
that,  by  turning  its  head  a  bit,  the  snow-white 
goat  could  scratch  itself  on  its  ham.  And 
though  it  seemed  to  be  old,  it  was  very  gentle  ; 
for  it  rubbed  its  nose  and  face  against  the  little 
girl's  frock,  and  appeared  to  be  very  glad  to  see 
her. 

"  '  Now  then,'  said  Brother  Drouth,  '  this  goat 
is  yours.  Take  it,  and  take  care  of  it.  On  the 
under  side  of  each  horn,  you  will  find  a  small 
spring.  Touch  it,  and  the  horn  will  come  off ; 


264  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

and  each  horn,  no  matter  how  many  times  you 
touch  the  spring,  you  will  always  find  full  of  gold 
and  silver.  But  this  is  not  all.  At  each  change 
of  the  moon,  you  will  find  the  right  horn  full  of 
diamonds,  and  the  left  horn  full  of  pearls.  Now 
listen  to  me.  You  may  tell  your  father  about 
this  treasure ;  but  as  soon  as  the  secret  is  told 
out  of  the  family,  your  goat  wih1  be  worth  no 
more  to  you  than  any  other  goat.' 

"  The  little  girl  thanked  Brother  Drouth  until 
he  would  allow  her  to  thank  him  no  more.  She 
would  have  left  the  cool  place  and  tbe  fresh 
breeze,  but  Brother  Drouth  said  she  was  welcome 
to  both  of  them.  <  When  the  weather  is  cold,' 
said  he,  6  you  can  put  them  away ;  but  when  it  is 
warm,  you  will  find  that  the  cool  place  and  the 
fresh  breeze  wih1  come  in  right  handy.' 

"  Thanking  Brother  Drouth  again  and  again, 
the  girl  started  on  her  journey  home,  leading  her 
wonderful  goat,  and  carrying  with  her  the  cool 
place  and  the  fresh  breeze.  In  this  way,  she 
made  the  long  journey  with  ease  and  comfort, 
and  came  to  her  father's  house  without  any 
trouble.  She  reached  the  gate,  too,  just  as  her 
brother  did.  They  were  very  glad  to  see  each 


UNCLE  RAIN  AND  BROTHER  DROUTH.     265 

other,  and  the  sheep  and  the  goat  appeared  to  be 
old  friends  ;  for  they  rubbed  their  noses  together 
in  friendly  fashion. 

"  '  I  '11  make  our  father  and  mother  rich/  said 
the  boy  proudly. 

" '  And  I  '11  make  them  richer,'  said  the  girl 
still  more  proudly. 

"  So  they  took  their  wonderful  goat  and  sheep 
into  the  stable,  gave  them  some  hay  to  eat,  and 
then  went  into  the  house." 


XXII. 

THE     SNOW-WHITE     GOAT     AND     THE     COAL-BLACK 
SHEEP. 

"  PLEASE  don't  say  that  is  the  end  of  the 
story,"  said  Sweetest  Susan,  as  Mrs.  Meadows 
made  a  longer  pause  than  usual. 

"  Well,  it  ought  to  be  the  end,"  replied  Mrs. 
Meadows.  "  The  two  children  had  come  home 
with  treasure  and  riches  enough  to  suit  any 
body.  That  ought  to  be  the  end  of  the  story. 
You  ought  to  be  able  to  say  that  they  all  lived 
happily  together  forever  after.  That 's  the  way 
they  put  it  down  in  the  books  ;  but  this  is  not  a 
book  story,  and  so  we  '11  have  to  stick  to  the 
facts. 

"  Now,  then,  when  the  boy  and  the  girl  re 
turned  home,  one  with  the  wonderful  sheep  and 
the  other  with  the  wonderful  goat,  they  found 
their  father  and  mother  in  a  great  state  of  mind. 
The  whole  country  round  about  had  been  searched 
for  the  children.  The  mother  was  sure  they  had 


THE    WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP     2G7 

been  stolen  and  carried  off.  The  father,  who  had 
his  own  miseries  always  in  mind,  was  sure  that 
they  had  grown  tired  of  the  poverty  that  sur 
rounded  them,  and  had  run  away  to  see  if  they 
could  n't  do  better  among  strangers. 

"  So,  when  the  children  had  returned  home, 
as  happy  as  larks,  their  mother  fell  to  weeping, 
and  cried  out :  '  I  am  so  glad  you  have  escaped, 
my  pretty  dears.'  The  father  grinned  and  said  : 
6  Why  do  you  come  back  ?  Is  it  because  the 
fare  elsewhere  is  no  better  than  it  is  here  ?  ' 

"  Now,  of  course,  the  children  did  n't  know 
what  to  make  of  all  this.  They  stood  with  their 
fingers  in  their  mouths,  and  wondered  what  the 
trouble  was.  Then  they  were  compelled  to  an 
swer  a  shower  of  questions  ;  and  by  the  time  the 
inquiries  had  come  to  an  end,  they  were  not  feel 
ing  very  comfortable  at  all.  Finally  the  boy 
said  :  — 

"  '  My  sister  and  myself  were  tired  of  wearing 
ragged  clothes  and  having  little  to  eat,  and  so  we 
concluded  to  seek  our  fortunes.  We  knew  that 
Uncle  Rain  and  Brother  Drouth  had  caused  all 
the  trouble,  and  so  we  thought  the  best  way  to  do 
would  be  to  hunt  them  up  and  tell  them  the 


268  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

trouble  they  were  causing  to  one  poor  family.  I 
went  to  see  Uncle  Rain,  and  my  sister  went  to  see 
Brother  Drouth.  We  found  them  at  home,  and 
both  were  in  good  humor.  Uncle  Rain  gave  me 
a  coal-black  sheep,  and  Brother  Drouth  gave  my 
sister  a  snow-white  goat,  and  told  us  that  with 
these  we  could  make  our  fortunes.' 

"  '  A  likely  story  —  a  very  likely  story  indeed  ! ' 
exclaimed  the  father.  '  If  you  have  brought  the 
sheep  and  the  goat  home,  you  would  do  well  to 
take  them  back  where  you  got  them,  else  we  shall 
all  be  put  in  jail  for  stealing  and  for  harboring 
stolen  property.' 

"  '  Now  don't  talk  that  way  to  your  own  chil 
dren,'  said  the  tender-hearted  mother.  '  For  my 
part,  I  believe  every  word  they  say  ; '  then  she 
kissed  them,  and  hugged  them,  and  cried  over 
them  a  little,  while  the  father  sat  by,  looking  sour 
and  glum.  The  children,  when  they  placed  the 
goat  and  the  sheep  in  the  stable,  had  each  taken 
a  handful  of  gold  and  silver  coins  from  the  horns 
of  the  wonderful  animals.  So  now  the  boy  went 
forward  and  placed  upon  the  table  near  his  father 
a  handful  of  gold  and  silver.  The  girl  did  the 
same. 


THE   WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP.     269 

"  The  father  heard  the  rattle  and  jingle  of  coin, 
and,  looking  around,  saw  there  at  his  elbow  more 
money  than  he  had  ever  seen  before  in  all  his 
life.  He  was  both  astonished  and  alarmed. 

"  '  Worse  and  worse  !  '  he  cried,  throwing  up 
his  hands.  '  Worse  and  worse  !  We  are  ruined  ! 
Tell  me  where  you  got  that  treasure,  that  I  may 
take  it  back  to  its  owner.  Make  haste  !  If  there  's 
any  delay  about  it,  we  shall  all  be  thrown  into 
prison.' 

"  '  Come  with  us,'  said  the  boy,  '  and  we  will 
show  you  where  we  found  the  treasure.' 

"  So  they  went  out  of  the  house  and  into  the 
stable,  and  there  the  children  showed  their  father 
where  the  treasure  came  from. 

"  (  Wonderful !  most  wonderful !  '  exclaimed 
the  father.  '  Wonderful !  most  wonderful ! '  cried 
the  mother.  Then  they  hugged  and  kissed  their 
children  again  and  again,  and  all  were  very  happy. 
It  made  no  difference  now  whether  crops  were 
good  or  bad." 

"  The  man  was  mighty  honest,"  remarked  Mr. 
Rabbit. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  But  a  man  can 
be  honest  and  thick-headed  at  the  same  time,  and 


270  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

that  was  the  way  with  this  man.  He  was  too 
honest  to  keep  other  people's  money,  and  too 
thick-headed  to  know  how  to  keep  his  own." 

"  Excuse  me  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Rabbit,  with  a 
bow  that  made  his  ears  flop  ;  "  excuse  me  !  I 
thought  the  story  had  come  to  an  end.  You  said 
they  were  all  very  happy  ;  so  I  says  to  myself, 
4  Now  is  the  time  to  make  a  slight  remark.'  : 

•"  No  ;  the  end  of  the  story  is  yet  to  come," 
replied  Mrs.  Meadows.  "  But  if  these  children  are 
getting  tired,  I  'm  ready  to  quit.  Goodness 
knows,  I  don't  want  to  worry  them,  and  I  don't 
want  to  make  them  think  that  I  want  to  do  all  the 
talking." 

"  Please  go  on,"  said  Sweetest  Susan. 

"  Well,  when  the  father  found  where  the 
money  and  treasure  came  from,  he  was  willing  to 
believe  that  his  children  had  visited  Uncle  Rain 
and  Brother  Drouth ;  for  he  knew  perfectly  well 
that  the  wonderful  black  sheep  and  the  wonder 
ful  snow-white  goat  were  not  bred  on  any  farm  in 
that  country.  So  his  mind  was  easy ;  and,  as  I 
said,  the  father,  the  mother,  and  the  two  children 
were  all  happy  together. 

"  The  mother  and  the  children  were  so  happy 


THE   WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP.     271 

that  they  stayed  at  home  and  enjoyed  one  an 
other's  company,  and  the  father  was  so  happy 
that  it  made  him  restless  in  the  mind.  He  got 
in  the  habit  of  going  to  the  tavern  every  day, 
and  sometimes  more  than  once  a  day ;  and  he 
got  to  drinking  more  ale  and  wine  than  was  good 
for  him.  And  on  these  occasions  his  legs  would 
wobble  under  him,  as  if  one  leg  wanted  to  go 
home,  and  the  other  wanted  to  go  back  to  the 
tavern. 

66  Sometimes,  at  the  tavern,  he  would  get  to 
gaming ;  and  when  he  lost  his  money,  as  he  al 
ways  did,  he  'd  ask  his  companions  to  wait  until 
he  could  go  home  and  get  more.  He  would 
soon  come  back  with  his  pockets  full.  This  hap 
pened  so  often  that  people  began  to  talk  about  it, 
and  to  wonder  how  a  man  who  had  been  so  very 
poor  could  suddenly  become  so  wealthy  that  he 
had  money  to  throw  away  at  the  gaming-table. 
His  neighbors  were  very  curious  about  it,  but 
they  asked  him  no  questions,  and  he  went  on 
drinking  and  gambling  for  many  long  days. 

"  But  finally  there  came  to  that  village  a  com 
pany  of  five  men,  who  let  it  be  understood  that 
they  were  peddlers.  They  came  into  the  village 


272  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

on  foot,  carrying  packs  on  their  backs,  and  put 
up  at  the  tavern.  They  were  not  peddlers,  but 
robbers,  who  had  been  attracted  to  the  village  by 
rumors  about  the  poor  man  who  was  rich  enough 
to  throw  away  money  night  after  night  at  the 
gaming-table. 

"  Shortly  after  nightfall,  three  of  the  five  men 
arranged  themselves  around  a  table ;  and  when 
the  man  came  in,  they  invited  him  to  join  them. 
Two  of  the  five  sat  by  the  fire,  and  appeared  to 
be  watching  the  game.  The  man  did  n't  wait 
for  two  invitations,  but  seated  himself  at  the 
table,  and  called  for  wine.  Then  the  gaming 
began.  Aided  by  their  two  companions,  the 
three  robbers  at  the  table  had  no  difficulty  in 
swindling  the  man.  Though  he  came  with  all 
his  pockets  filled  with  gold  and  silver,  they  were 
soon  emptied.  The  robbers  plied  him  with  wine, 
and  he  played  wildly. 

"  When  his  money  was  all  gone,  he  excused 
himself  and  said  he  would  go  and  get  more,  and 
then  continue  the  game.  He  went  out ;  and,  at 
a  sign  from  the  leader,  the  two  robbers  who  had 
been  sitting  by  the  fire,  rose  and  followed  him. 
They  had  no  trouble  in  doing  this,  for  the  man's 


THE   WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP.    273 

legs  were  already  getting  wobbly.  One  leg 
wanted  to  go  home  and  go  to  bed,  and  the  other 
wanted  to  go  back  and  be  stretched  out  under 
the  table. 

66  But,  though  the  man's  legs  were  wobbly, 
his  head  was  pretty  clear.  He  knew  his  way 
home,  and  he  knew  his  way  into  the  stable,  where 
the  coal-black  sheep  and  the  snow-white  goat 
were  housed.  The  two  robbers  followed  him  as 
closely  as  they  dared,  but  it  was  too  dark  for 
them  to  see  what  he  was  doing.  They  knew 
that  he  went  into  the  stable,  and  presently  they 
heard  the  jingle  and  clinking  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  then  he  came  out  with  his  pockets  full. 

"  They  waited  until  he  had  gone  on  toward 
the  tavern  and  was  out  of  sight.  Then  they 
slipped  into  the  yard,  and  crept  into  the  stable. 
It  was  very  dark  in  the  stable,  but  not  too  dark 
to  see  dimly.  The  two  men  felt  their  way  along, 
and  soon  saw  that  there  were  but  two  stalls  in 
the  stable.  Each  went  into  a  stall,  and  began  to 
feel  around.  They  expected  to  find  bags  of  gold 
and  silver  stacked  around,  but  they  were  mis 
taken.  Finally  they  stooped  to  feel  along  the 
ground;  and,  as  they  did  so,  there  was  a  loud 


274  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

« 

thump  in  each  stall  and  a  yell  of  pain  from  both 
robbers.  When  they  stooped  to  feel  along  the 
ground,  the  coal-black  sheep  and  the  snow-white 
goat  rushed  at  them,  and  gave  each  one  a  thump 
that  nearly  jarred  the  senses  out  of  him.  The 
robbers  rolled  over  with  a  howl,  and  the  goat 
and  the  sheep  thumped  them  again,  and  kept  on 
thumping  them. 

"  But  at  last  the  robbers  managed  to  escape, 
though  they  made  a  pretty  looking  sight.  Their 
hats  were  lost,  their  clothes  were  torn  and 
muddy,  their  heads  were  bleeding,  their  eyes 
were  knocked  black  and  blue,  and  they  felt  as  if 
there  was  not  a  whole  bone  in  their  body.  They 
were  too  frightened  to  talk,  but  finally  their 
voices  came  to  them. 

"  '  What  was  it  hit  you  ?  '  says  one. 

" '  I  'in  blessed  if  I  know,'  says  the  other. 
<  What  hit  you  ?  ' 

"  '  Something  hard,'  says  one. 

"  '  What  did  it  look  like  ?  ' 

"  '  Satan  dressed  in  white,  and  he  had  his  maul 
and  wedge  with  him.  What  did  yours  look 
like?' 

" '  Satan  dressed  in  black,  and  he  had  all  his 


AT  LAST  THE   ROBBERS   MANAGED  TO   ESCAPE 


THE    WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP.     275 

horns  and  hoofs  with  him  ;  and  I  think  he  must 
have  struck  me  one  or  two  licks  with  his  forked 
tail.' 

"  They  went  off  to  the  nearest  branch,  and 
bathed  themselves  the  best  they  could,  but  even 
then  they  made  a  sorry  spectacle.  Their  heads 
and  faces  were  still  swollen,  their  eyes  were 
nearly  closed,  and  their  clothes  were  split  and 
ripped  from  heel  to  collar.  They  did  n't  know 
where  to  go.  They  knew  that  it  would  n't  do  to 
go  back  to  the  tavern  and  present  themselves 
among  the  guests,  for  that  would  cast  suspicion 
on  their  companions.  Finally,  they  went  outside 
the  village,  and  hid  themselves  under  a  haystack, 
where  they  soon  fell  asleep,  and  would  have  slept 
soundly  if  their  dreams  had  not  been  disturbed 
by  visions  of  a  black  Satan  and  a  white  Satan, 
both  armed  with  long,  hard  horns  and  sharp 
hoofs. 

"  All  this  time,  the  father  of  the  children, 
wobbly  as  he  was,  sat  at  the  gaming-table  with 
the  three  robbers.  The  robbers  were  waiting  for 
the  return  of  their  companions,  and  at  last  they 
became  so  uneasy  that  they  played  loosely,  and  the 
man  began  to  win  his  gold  and  silver  back  again. 


276  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

At  last  the  robbers  concluded  to  go  in  search  of 
their  companions ;  and  the  man  went  home,  carry 
ing  with  him  more  gold  and  silver  than  he  had 
ever  before  brought  away  from  the  tavern.  The 
robbers  failed  to  find  their  companions  until  the 
next  day,  and  the  story  they  told  was  so  alarm 
ing  that  the  band  concluded  to  leave  that  part 
of  the  country,  at  least  for  awhile. 

"  But  reports  and  rumors  of  the  great  wealth 
of  the  poor  farmer  continued  to  travel  about,  and 
finally  they  came  to  the  ears  of  a  company  of 
merchants,  who  were  more  cunning  in  their  line 
of  business  than  the  robbers  were  in  theirs.  So 
these  merchants  journeyed  to  the  village,  and  put 
up  at  the  tavern.  There  they  soon  made  the  ac 
quaintance  of  the  fortunate  farmer  who  owned 
the  wonderful  coal-black  sheep  and  the  wonderful 
snow-white  goat. 

"  They  talked  business  with  him  from  the  word 
go.  They  wanted  him  to  put  his  money  in  all 
sorts  of  schemes  that  were  warranted  to  double  it 
in  a  few  months.  But  the  man  said  he  did  n't 
want  his  money  doubled.  He  already  had  as 
much  as  he  wanted.  He  told  them  that  if  he 
were  to  sit  on  the  street  and  throw  away  a  million 


THE   WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP.     277 

dollars  a  minute  for  ten  years  he  'd  be  just  as  rich 
at  the  end  of  that  time  as  he  was  before  he  threw 
away  the  first  million. 

"  Of  course,  the  merchants  did  n't  understand 
this.  Some  said  the  man  was  crazy,  but  the 
shrewder  ones  concluded  that  there  must  be  some 
secret  behind  it  all.  So  they  set  to  work  to  find 
it  out.  They  flattered  him  in  every  way.  They 
made  him  rich  presents  for  himself,  his  wife,  and 
children.  For  the  first  time  he  began  to  wear 
fine  clothes  and  put  on  airs.  The  shrewd  mer 
chants  asked  his  advice  about  their  own  business, 
and  went  about  telling  everybody  what  a  wise 
man  he  was.  They  pretended  to  tell  him  all  their 
own  business  secrets. 

"  This,  of  course,  pleased  the  man  very  much ; 
and,  at  last,  one  day,  when  he  had  more  wine  in 
his  head  than  wit,  he  told  his  merchant  friends 
that  he  made  all  his  gold  and  silver  by  shearing  a 
black  sheep  and  milking  a  white  goat. 

"  (  Where  do  you  keep  these  wonderful  crea 
tures  ? '  one  of  the  merchants  asked. 

"  '  In  my  stable,'  replied  the  man,  —  '  in  my 
stable  night  and  day.' 

66  The  greedy  merchants  were  not  long  in  find- 


278  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

ing  out  that  the  man  kept  a  coal-black  sheep  and 
a  snow-white-goat  in  his  stable  sure  enough  ;  and, 
after  a  good  deal  of  persuading  and  flattering, 
they  got  him  to  consent  to  bring  his  coal-black 
sheep  and  his  snow-white  goat  to  the  tavern,  so 
that  they  might  see  for  themselves  how  rare  and 
valuable  the  animals  were. 

"  Well,  one  night  after  his  wife  and  children 
had  gone  to  bed,  the  man  carried  the  sheep  and 
the  goat  to  the  tavern,  and  showed  them  to  the 
merchants.  They  offered  him  immense  sums  of 
money  for  the  animals,  but  he  refused  them  all. 
Then  they  invited  him  to  remain  to  a  banquet 
which  they  had  prepared.  He  wanted  to  carry 
his  sheep  and  his  goat  back  home,  and  then  re 
turn  to  the  banquet ;  but  the  merchants  said  the 
table  was  already  spread,  and  he  could  tie  his 
wonderful  animals  in  the  rear  hall,  where  nobody 
would  bother  them. 

"  Meantime,  the  merchants  had  sent  out  into 
the  country  and  bought  a  black  sheep  and  a  white 
goat ;  and  while  some  of  them  were  pouring  wine 
down  the  man's  goozle,  others  were  untying  the 
wonderful  black  sheep  and  white  goat,  and  put 
ting  in  their  place  the  animals  that  had  been 


THE   WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP.     279 

bought.  When  the  time  came  for  the  man  to  go 
home,  he  was  so  wobbly  in  the  legs  and  so  be 
fuddled  in  the  head  that  he  could  n't  tell  the 
difference  between  a  sheep  and  a  goat.  In  fact, 
he  had  forgotten  all  about  them,  until  one  of  the 
merchants  asked  him  if  he  was  n't  going  to  take 
his  rare  and  valuable  animals  back  home. 

"  The  strange  sheep  and  goat  were  not  used 
to  being  led  about  at  night  by  a  man  with  wobbly 
legs  and  a  befuddled  head,  and  they  cut  up  such 
queer  capers  that  it  was  much  as  the  man  could 
do  to  keep  on  his  feet  at  all.  But,  after  so  long 
a  time,  he  managed  to  get  them  home,  and  tied 
them  in  the  stable. 

"  So  far,  so  good  :  but  the  next  morning,  when 
the  boy  and  the  girl  got  up  betimes  and  went 
out  to  feed  their  pets,  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
doing,  they  saw  at  once  that  something  had  hap 
pened.  Their  precious  pets  had  been  made  way 
with,  and  these  rough,  dirty,  and  mean-looking 
animals  put  in  their  place.  One  glance  was 
enough  to  satisfy  the  children  of  this,  and  they 
set  up  such  a  wail  that  the  whole  neighborhood 
was  aroused.  Even  their  father  stuck  his  head 
out  of  the  window  and  asked  what  was  the  mat- 


280  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

ter.  His  head  was  still  befuddled  by  the  night's 
banquet,  but  his  alarm  sobered  him  instantly 
when  he  heard  what  his  children  said.  He 
wouldn't  believe  it  at  first;  but  when  he  went 
out  into  the  stable  and  saw  for  himself,  he  was 
nearly  beside  himself  with  grief.  He  declared 
that  it  was  all  his  fault,  and  told  what  he  had 
done  the  night  before. 

"  He  was  now  as  poor  as  he  ever  was  ;  and  his 
wife  said  she  was  n't  sorry  a  bit,  because  he  would 
now  have  a  chance  to  go  to  work  and  an  excuse 
for  not  hanging  around  the  tavern.  But  the  chil 
dren  begged  him  to  go  after  their  coal-black 
sheep  and  their  snow-white  goat. 

"  This  he  promised  to  do,  and  he  made  haste  to 
go  to  the  tavern.  The  merchants  were  still  there, 
but  they  only  laughed  at  him  when  he  asked  them 
for  his  sheep  and  his  goat.  They  called  on  the 
tavern-keeper  to  witness  that  the  man  had  started 
home  with  a  black  sheep  and  a  white  goat. 

" '  That  is  true,'  said  the  man,  '  and  I  have 
them  there  now.  But  they  are  not  mine.  Some 
of  you  ruffians  stole  mine  and  put  these  in  their 
place.' 

"  The  merchants  pretended  to  be  very  angry  at 


THE   WHITE  GOAT  AND  BLACK  SHEEP.     281 

this,  and  made  as  if  they  would  fall  on  the  man 
with  their  fists.  But  he  was  a  stout  fellow,  and 
was  armed  with  a  stout  hickory,  and  so  they 
merely  threatened.  But  the  man  failed  to  get  his 
coal-black  sheep  and  his  snow-white  goat,  and 
went  home  full  of  grief  and  remorse." 


XXIII. 

THE    BUTTING    COW    AND    THE    HITTING    STICK. 

"I  HOPE  that  isn't  the  end  of  » the  story," 
remarked  Buster  John. 

"  Well,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  "  we  can  either 
cut  it  off  here,  or  we  can  carry  it  on  for  weeks 
and  weeks." 

"  Speak  for  yourself,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows ;  "  or, 
if  you  want  to,  you  can  tell  the  rest  of  the  story 
yourself.  No  doubt  you  can  tell  it  a  great  deal 
better  than  I  can." 

"  Now  you  '11  have  to  excuse  me,"  remarked 
Mr.  Rabbit.  "  I  thought  maybe  you  were  get 
ting  tired,  and  wanted  to  rest.  Go  on  with  the 
tale.  I  'm  getting  old  and  trembly  in  the  limbs, 
but  I  can  stand  it  if  the  rest  can." 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Meadows,  turning  to  Buster 
John  and  Sweetest  Susan,  "  the  children  were 
very  much  worried  over  the  loss  of  the  coal-black 
sheep  and  the  snow-white  goat,  and  they  made  up 
their  minds  to  try  and  get  them  back.  The  boy 


BUTTING  COW  AND  HITTING  STICK.      283 

said  he  would  go  and  ask  Uncle  Rain's  advice, 
and  the  girl  said  she  would  visit  Brother  Drouth 
once  more.  So  they  started  on  their  journey,  one 
going  east  and  the  other  going  south. 

"  They  met  with  no  adventure  by  the  way,  and, 
having  traveled  the  road  once,  they  were  not  long 
in  coming  to  the  end  of  their  journey.  The  boy 
found  Uncle  Rain  at  home,  and  told  him  all  about 
the  loss  of  his  beautiful  black  sheep.  Uncle  Rain 
grunted  at  the  news,  and  looked  very  solemn 

" '  That 's  about  the  way  I  thought  it  would 
be,'  said  he.  '  It  takes  a  mighty  strong-minded 
person  to  stand  prosperity.  But  you  need  n't  be 
afraid.  Your  sheep  is  not  lost.  The  men  who 
have  stolen  him  can  stand  great  prosperity  no 
better  than  your  father  can.  They  will  wrangle 
among  themselves,  and  they  will  never  take  the 
sheep  away  from  the  tavern.  But  they  shall  be 
punished.  Come  with  me.' 

"  Uncle  Rain  went  out  into  his  barnyard,  and 
the  boy  followed  him.  He  went  to  a  stall  where 
a  black  cow  was  tied.  '  This,'  said  he,  <  is  the 
butting  cow.  You  are  to  take  her  with  you. 
She  will  allow  no  one  to  come  near  her  but  you, 
and  when  you  give  her  the  word  she  will  run  over 


284  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

and  knock  down  whoever  and  whatever  is  in 
sight.  She  knows  the  black  sheep,  too,  for  they 
have  long  been  in  the  barn  together.  When  she 
begins  to  low,  the  black  sheep  will  bleat,  and  in 
that  way  you  may  know  when  you  have  found  it. 
More  than  that,  the  cow  will  give  you  the  most 
beautiful  golden  butter  that  ever  was  seen.' 

"  Uncle  Rain  untied  the  cow,  placed  the  end  of 
the  rope  in  the  boy's  hand,  and  bade  him  good-by. 
The  boy  went  back  the  way  he  came,  the  cow  fol 
lowing  closely  and  seeming  to  be  eager  to  go  with 
him. 

"  The  girl,  who  had  taken  the  road  to  Brother 
Drouth's  house,  arrived  there  safely  and  told  her 
trouble.  Brother  Drouth  said  he  was  very  sorry 
about  it,  but  as  it  was  not  a  thing  to  weep  over, 
he  did  n't  propose  to  shed  any  tears. 

"  '  What 's  done,'  he  said,  6  can  't  be  undone ; 
but  I  '11  see  that  it 's  not  done  over  again.'  He 
went  to  a  corner  of  the  room,  picked  up  a  walk 
ing-stick,  and  gave  it  to  the  little  girl.  '  We  have 
here,'  he  said,  '  a  walking-stick.  It  is  called  the 
hitting  stick.  Whenever  you  are  in  danger,  or 
whenever  you  want  to  punish  your  enemies,  you 
have  only  to  say:  "Hit,  stick!  Stick,  hit!"  and 


BUTTING  COW  AND  HITTING     STICK       285 


neither  one  man  nor  a  unrer  can 
against  it.  It  is  not  too  heav^Tfor  vou  to  carrv? 
but  if  your  hands  grow  tir|^  of  carrying  it?  just 
say,  "  Jump,  stick  !  "  ancU1^  ^^  w^  jump  aiong 
before  you  or  by  your^ie,  just  as  vou  please.' 

"  Then  Brother  ^outh  bade  the  girl  good-by; 
and  she  went  on  h^r  wav?  sometimes  carrying  the 
hitting  stick,  aiy^  sometimes  making  it  jump  along 
the  road  before  her> 

"  Now...  then,  while  all  this  was  going  on,  the 
grefjay  merchants  found  themselves  in  a  fix. 
When  they  first  got  hold  of  the  coal-black  sheep 
and  the  snow-white  goat,  they  thought  that  they 
had  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  for  nothing.  But 
merchants,  especially  the  merchants  of  those  days, 
when  there  was  not  as  much  trade  as  there  is  now, 
had  very  sharp  eyes,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
they  found  the  springs  under  the  horns  of  the 
sheep  and  the  goat.  Having  found  the  treasure, 
they  remembered  that  the  man  had  spent  more 
money  in  two  days  than  the  horns  of  the  animals 
would  hold,  and  this  led  them  to  discover  that  the 
horns  were  always  full  of  treasure. 

"  For  a  little  while  they  were  very  happy,  and 
congratulated  one  another  many  times  over.  But 


286  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

in  the  midst  of  tjheir  enjoyment  the  thought  came 
to  them  that  there  must  be  a  division  of  this  trea 
sure.  The  moment  tihe  subject  was  broached,  the 
wrangle  began.  There\  were  more  than  a  dozen 
of  the  merchants,  and  thi?  question  was  how  to 
divide  the  treasure  so  that  \each  might  have  an 
equal  share.  Though  they  took  millions  from  the 
horns  of  the  black  sheep  and  the  white  goat,  yet 
whoever  had  the  animals  would  stih1  Jkave  the  most. 

"It  was  a  mighty  serious  question/"  They  ar 
gued,  they  reasoned,  they  disputed,  and  they  wran 
gled,  and  once  or  twice  they  came  near  having  a 
pitched  battle.  But  finally,  after  many  days,  it 
was  decided  that  one  party  of  merchants  should 
have  the  black  sheep  and  that  another  party 
should  have  the  white  goat.  This  did  n't  satisfy 
all  of  them,  but  it  was  the  best  that  could  be  done ; 
and  so  they  departed,  the  party  with  the  white 
goat  going  south,  and  the  party  with  the  black 
sheep  going  east. 

"  Now,  a  very  curious  thing  happened.  If 
either  party  had  kept  on  traveling,  it  would  have 
met  the  boy  or  the  girl ;  one  with  the  butting  cow, 
and  the  other  with  the  hitting  stick.  But  both 
parties  were  dissatisfied ;  and  they  had  gone  but  a 


BUTTING   COW  AND  HITTING  STICK.      287 

little  way  before  they  stopped,  and  after  some  talk 
determined  to  go  back.  The  merchants  with  the 
white  goat  determined  to  follow  on  after  the  mer 
chants  that  had  the  black  sheep,  and  secure  the 
animal  by  fair  means  or  foul.  The  merchants  with 
the  black  sheep  determined  to  follow  the  mer 
chants  with  the  white  goat,  and  buy  the  animal  or 
seize  him.  So  each  party  turned  back. 

"  The  merchants  with  the  white  goat  reached 
the  tavern  first.  They  had  hardly  refreshed  them 
selves,  when  the  tavern-keeper  came  running  in,  to 
tell  them  that  the  other  merchants  were  coming. 

"  '  Then  take  our  white  goat  and  hide  it  in  your 
stable,'  they  said. 

"  The  landlord  did  as  he  was  bid ;  and  then 
meeting  the  merchants  with  the  black  sheep,  he 
told  them  that  their  companions  of  the  morning 
had  also  returned. 

" <  Then  take  our  black  sheep  and  hide  it  in 
your  stable,'  they  said.  This  the  landlord  quickly 
did,  and  returned  to  the  tavern  in  time  to  hear 
the  merchants  greet  each  other. 

"  '  What  are  you  doing  here  ? '  asked  the  black 
sheep  merchants. 

"  *  We  have  lost  our  white  goat,'  they  replied, 


288  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

6  and  have  come  here  to  hunt  it.  Why  have  you 
returned  ? ' 

"  6  We  have  coine  on  the  same  errand/  said  the 
others.  '  We  have  lost  our  black  sheep,  and  have 
returned  to  find  it.' 

"  Now,  the  tavern-keeper  was  not  a  very  smart 
man,  but  he  had  no  lack  of  shrewdness  and  cun 
ning.  He  had  heard  the  merchants  wrangling 
and  quarreling  over  the  black  sheep  and  the 
white  goat,  and  now  he  saw  them  coming  back 
pretending  to  be  hunting  for  both  the  animals, 
though  neither  one  was  lost.  He  had  sense  enough 
to  see  that  there  must  be  something  very  valuable 
about  the  black  sheep  and  the  white  goat ;  and  so, 
while  the  merchants  were  taking  their  refresh 
ments,  each  party  eyeing  the  other  with  suspicion, 
the  tavern-keeper  slipped  out  into  his  stable,  and 
carried  the  black  sheep  and  the  white  goat  to  an 
outhouse  out  of  sight  and  hearing  of  the  gujests. 

"  As  for  the  merchants,  they  were  in  a  pickle. 
Neither  party  wanted  to  go  away  and  leave  the 
other  at  the  tavern  ;  so  they  waited  and  waited,  — 
the  black  sheep  party  waiting  for  the  white  goat 
party  to  go,  and  the  white  goat  party  waiting  for 
the  black  sheep  party  to  go. 


BUTTING  COW  AND  HITTING  STICK.      289 

"  '  When  do  you  leave  ? '  says  one. 

" '  As  soon  as  we  find  our  sheep.  When  do 
you  leave  ? '  says  the  other. 

"  '  Quite  as  soon.' 

"  There  was  not  much  satisfaction  in  this  for 
either  side.  Finally,  one  of  the  merchants  called 
the  tavern-keeper  aside,  and  asked  him  where  he 
had  put  the  black  sheep. 

" '  In  my  stable,  your  honor/  replied  the  man. 

"  Then  another  merchant  called  the  tavern- 
keeper  aside,  and  asked  him  where  he  had  put 
the  white  goat. 

"  '  In  my  stable,  your  honor,'  he  replied. 

"  Now  as  each  of  these  merchants  went  out  to 
see  that  his  precious  animal  was  safe,  it  was  per 
fectly  natural  that  they  should  see  each  other 
slipping  about  in  the  yard,  and  that  they  should 
meet  face  to  face  in  the  stable.  Both  made  the 
excuse  that  they  thought  they  might  find  their 
lost  animals  at  that  point,  and  both  were  terribly 
worked  up  when  they  saw  that  the  stable  was 
empty.  Each  went  back  and  told  his  companions, 
and  pretty  soon  there  was  the  biggest  uproar 
in  that  house  that  the  tavern-keeper  had  ever 
heard. 


290  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME, 

66  Both  parties  went  running  to  the  stable,  fall 
ing  over  each  other  on  the  way ;  but  the  black 
sheep  and  the  white  goat  were  gone.  Then  the 
merchants  went  running  back  into  the  tavern,  and 
all  began  yelling  at  the  tavern-keeper.  Instead 
of  making  any  answer,  that  cunning  chap  put  his 
ringers  in  his  ears,  and  politely  asked  the  mer 
chants  if  they  wanted  to  jar  the  roof  off  of  the 
house.  They  danced  around  him,  yelling  and 
shaking  their  fists  at  him,  but  he  kept  his  fingers 
in  his  ears. 

"  Finally,  they  caught  hold  of  the  man,  and 
began  to  pull  and  haul  him  around  at  a  great 
rate.  In  this  way  they  compelled  him  to  take  his 
fingers  out  of  his  ears ;  but  he  could  hear  little 
better,  for  the  whole  crowd  was  dancing  around 
and  squalling  like  a  lot  of  crazy  people  at  a  picnic. 
All  the  tavern-keeper  could  hear  was  :  - 

"  '  Where  's  our  '  —  '  You  Ve  got  our  '  — 
'Sheep!'  <  Goat ! ' 

"  There  was  more  noise  than  sense  to  this  rip- 
pit.  There  was  so  much  noise  that  it  roused  the 
whole  neighborhood,  and  the  people  of  the  village 
came  running  in  to  see  what  the  trouble  was. 
Among  them  was  the  mayor  ;  and  he  succeeded  in 


BUTTING  COW  AND  HITTING  STICK.      291 

quieting  the  rumpus,  not  because  he  was  mayor, 
but  because  he  had  a  louder  voice  than  any  of 
them. 

66  When  everything  was  quiet,  the  mayor  asked 
the  merchants  why  they  were  acting  like  crazy 
people. 

"  '  Because  this  man  has  robbed  us,'  they  cried, 
pointing  to  the  tavern-keeper. 

"  6  Of  what  has  he  robbed  you  ? '  asked  the 
mayor. 

"  '  Of  a  black  sheep  and  a  white  goat,'  they 
replied. 

"  '  Your  honor,'  said  the  tavern-keeper,  when 
the  mayor  had  turned  to  him,  '  you  have  known 
me  all  my  life,  and  have  never  heard  that  I  was  a 
thief.  I  want  to  ask  these  men  a  few  questions.' 
By  this  time  the  two  parties  of  merchants  had 
ranged  themselves  on  different  sides  of  the  room. 
The  tavern-keeper  turned  to  the  black  sheep 
party.  <  Did  n't  the  men  over  there  come  into 
this  house  and  tell  you  that  they  had  lost  their 
white  goat  ? ' 

"  '  They  certainly  did/  was  the  reply. 

"  Then  he  turned  to  the  white  goat  party. 
'  Did  n't  the  men  over  there  tell  you  that  they 


292  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

had  lost  their  black  sheep  and  had  come  back  to 
hunt  it  ? ' 

"  6  They  certainly  did/  came  the  answer. 

"  Both  parties  tried  to  explain  that  they  had 
placed  their  animals  in  charge  of  the  tavern- 
keeper,  but  while  they  were  hemming  and  hawing 
a  queer  thing  happened.  The  boy  had  come  up 
with  his  butting  cow ;  and  seeing  the  merchants 
still  in  the  tavern,  he  led  her  to  the  door,  and  told 
her  to  do  her  whole  duty,  and  nothing  but  her 
duty. 

"  While  the  merchants  were  trying  to  explain, 
the  cow  rushed  into  the  room  with  a  bellow,  her 
tail  curled  over  her  back,  and  went  at  the  men 
with  head  down  and  horn  points  up.  Tables  and 
chairs  were  nothing  to  the  butting  cow.  She 
ran  over  them  and  through  them  ;  and  in  a  little 
while  the  room  was  cleared  of  the  merchants,  and 
some  of  them  were  hurt  so  badly  that  they  could 
scarcely  crawl  away. 

"  The  mayor  had  jumped  through  a  window,  and 
the  village  people  had  scattered  in  all  directions. 
By  this  time  the  tavern-keeper,  who  had  remained 
unhurt,  was  laughing  to  himself  at  the  fix  the 
merchants  found  themselves  in,  for  the  butting 


"HIT  STICK!    STICK   HIT!"   SHE  CRIED 


BUTTING  COW  AND  HITTING  STICK.      293 

cow  was  still  pursuing  them.  But  he  laughed  too 
soon.  The  little  girl  came  to  the  door  with  her 
hitting  stick. 

"  '  Hit,  stick  !  Stick,  hit !  '  she  cried ;  and  in 
an  instant  the  stick  was  mauling  the  tavern- 
keeper  over  the  head  and  shoulders  and  all  about 
the  body. 

"  '  Help  !  help  !  '  shouted  the  tavern-keeper. 
6  Somebody  run  here  !  Help  !  I  '11  tell  you  where 
they  are  !  I  '11  show  you  where  they  are  !  ' 

"  '  Stop,  stick  ! '  said  the  girl.  '  Now  show  me 
where  my  snow-white  goat  is.' 

"  '  Yes  !  '  exclaimed  the  boy.  6  Show  me  where 
my  coal-black  sheep  is  !  ' 

"  '  Come,'  said  the  tavern-keeper  ;  and  he  went 
as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  outhouse  where  he  had 
hid  the  animals.  They  were  in  there,  safe  and 
sound,  and  the  children  made  haste  to  carry  them 
home. 

"  So  the  farmer  was  once  more  rich  and  pros 
perous.  He  shunned  the  tavern  and  kept  at  work, 
and  in  this  way  prosperity  brought  happiness  and 
content  to  ah1  the  family.  And  by  giving  freely 
to  the  poor  they  made  others  happy  too." 


XXIV. 

THE     FATE     OF     THE     DIDDYPAWN. 

"  IT  has  always  been  mighty  curious  to  me," 
said  Mr.  Rabbit,  "  why  everything  and  everybody 
is  not  contented  with  what  they  've  got.  There  'd 
be  lots  less  trouble  in  the  country  next  door  if 
everybody  was  satisfied." 

"  Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Thimblefinger,  "  some 
people  have  nothing  at  all.  I  hope  you  don't 
want  a  man  who  has  nothing  to  be  satisfied. 
An  empty  pocket  makes  an  empty  stomach,  and 
an  empty  stomach  has  a  way  of  talking  so  it  can 
be  heard." 

"  That  is  true,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit ;  "  but  there 
is  a  living  in  the  world  for  every  creature,  if  he 
will  only  get  out  of  bed  and  walk  about  and  look 
for  it.  But  a  good  many  folks  and  a  heap  of  the 
animals  think  that  if  there  is  a  living  in  the  world 
for  everybody,  it  ought  to  be  handed  round  in  a 
silver  dish.  Then  there  are  some  folks  and  a 
great  many  creatures  that  are  not  satisfied  with 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  DIDDYPAWN.  295 

what  they  are,  but  want  to  be  somebody  or  some 
thing  else.  That  sort  of  talk  puts  me  in  mind  of 
the  Diddypawn." 

66  What  is  the  Diddypawn  ? "  asked  Buster 
John. 

"  Well,  it  would  be  hard  to  tell  you  at  this 
time  of  day,"  replied  Mr.  Rabbit,  rubbing  his  chin 
thoughtfully.  "  There  are  no  Diddypawns  now, 
and  I  don 't  know  that  I  ever  saw  but  one.  He 
is  the  chap  I  'm  going  to  tell  you  about.  He  was 
a  great  big  strong  creature,  with  a  long  head  and 
short  ears,  and  eyes  that  could  see  in  the  dark. 
He  had  legs  that  could  carry  him  many  a  mile  in 
a  day,  and  teeth  strong  enough  to  crunch  an 
elephant's  hind  leg.  The  Diddypawn  would  have 
weeded  a  wide  row  if  he  had  been  a  mind  to  ;  but, 
instead  of  doing  that,  he  just  lay  in  the  mud  on 
the  river  bank,  and  let  the  sun  shine  and  the  rain 
fall.  He  had  but  to  reach  down  in  the  water  to 
pick  up  a  fish,  or  up  in  the  bushes  to  catch  a 
bird. 

"  But  all  this  did  n't  make  his  mind  easy.  He 
wasn't  contented.  The  thought  came  to  him 
that  a  fine  large  creature  such  as  he  was  ought 
to  be  able  to  swim  as  fast  as  a  fish,  and  fly  as 


296  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

high  as  a  bird.  So  he  worried  and  worried 
and  worried  about  it,  until  there  was  no  peace 
in  that  neighborhood.  AIL  the  creatures  that 
crawled,  or  walked,  or  swam,  or  flew,  heard  of 
the  Diddypawn's  troubles.  At  first  they  paid 
no  attention  to  him,  but  he  groaned  so  long 
and  he  groaned  so  loud  that  they  could  n't 
help  but  pay  attention.  They  could  n't  sleep  at 
night,  and  they  could  n't  have  any  peace  in  the 
daytime. 

"  For  I  don't  know  how  long  the  Diddypawn 
rolled  and  tumbled  in  the  mud,  and  moaned  and 
groaned  because  he  did  n't  have  as  many  fins  as 
the  fishes  and  as  many  feathers  as  the  birds.  He 
moaned  and  mumbled  in  the  daytime,  and 
groaned  and  grumbled  at  night.  The  other  crea 
tures  paid  no  attention  to  him  at  first ;  but  mat 
ters  went  from  bad  to  worse,  and  they  soon  found 
that  they  had  to  do  something  or  leave  the 
country. 

"  So,  after  awhile  the  fishes  held  a  convention, 
and  the  porpoise  and  the  catfish  made  speeches, 
saying  that  the  Diddypawn  was  in  a  peck  of 
trouble,  and  asking  what  could  be  done  for  him. 
Finally,  after  a  good  deal  of  talk  about  one  thing 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  DIDDYPAWN.  297 

and  another,  the  convention  of  fishes  concluded 
to  call  on  the  Diddypawn  in  a  body,  and  ask  him 
what  in  the  name  of  goodness  he  wanted. 

"  This  they  did ;  and  the  reply  that  the  Diddy 
pawn  made  was  that  he  wanted  to  know  how  to 
swim  as  well  as  any  fish.  There  was  n't  anything 
unreasonable  in  this ;  and  so  the  convention,  after 
a  good  deal  more  talk,  said  that  the  best  way  to 
do  would  be  for  every  fish  to  lend  the  Diddypawn 
a  fin. 

"  The  convention  told  the  Diddypawn  about 
this,  and  it  made  him  grin  from  one  ear  to  the 
other  to  think  that  he  would  be  able  to  swim  as 
fast  as  the  fishes.  He  rolled  from  the  bank  into 
the  shallow  water,  and  the  fishes,  as  good  as  their 
word,  loaned  him  each  a  fin.  With  these  the 
Diddypawn  found  he  was  able  to  get  about  in  the 
water  right  nimbly.  He  swam  around  and  around, 
far  and  near,  and  finally  reached  an  island  where 
there  were  some  trees. 

"  '  Don't  go  too  near  the  land,'  says  the  cat-fish. 
6  Don't  go  too  near  the  land,'  says  the  perch. 

"  '  Don't  bother  about  me,'  says  the  Diddy 
pawn.  '  I  can  walk  on  the  land  as  well  as  I  can 
swim  in  the  water.' 


298  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  '  But  our  fins ! '  says  the  catfish  and  the 
perch.  '  If  you  go  on  land  and  let  them  dry  in 
the  sun,  they  '11  be  no  good  to  either  us  or  you.' 

"  '  No  matter/  says  the  Diddypawn,  '  on  the 
land  I  '11  go,  and  I  '11  be  bound  the  fins  will  be 
just  as  limber  after  they  get  dry  as  they  were 
when  they  were  wet.' 

"  But  the  fishes  set  up  such  a  cry  and  made 
such  a  fuss  that  the  Diddypawn  concluded  to  give 
them  back  their  fins,  while  he  went  on  dry  land 
and  rested  himself.  He  went  on  the  island,  and 
stretched  himself  out  in  the  tall  grass  at  the  foot 
of  the  big  trees,  and  soon  fell  asleep.  When  he 
awoke,  the  sun  was  nearly  down.  He  crawled 
to  the  waterside,  and  soon  saw  that  the  fishes  had 
all  gone  away.  He  had  no  way  of  calling  them 
up  or  of  sending  them  a  message,  and  so  there  he 
was. 

"  While  the  Diddypawn  was  lying  there  won 
dering  how  he  was  going  to  get  back  home,  he 
heard  a  roaring  and  rustling  noise  in  the  air. 
Looking  up,  he  saw  that  the  sky  was  nearly  black 
with  birds.  They  came  in  swarms,  in  droves,  and 
in  flocks.  There  were  big  birds  and  little  birds, 
and  all  sorts  and  sizes  of  birds.  The  trees  on  the 


IT   MADE   HIM    GRIN    FROM    EAR  TO   EAR 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  DIDDYPAWN,  299 

island  were  their  roosting-place,  but  they  were 
coming  home  earlier  than  usual,  because  they 
wanted  to  get  rid  of  the  meanings  and  groanings 
of  the  Diddypawn. 

"  The  birds  came  and  settled  in  the  trees,  and 
were  about  to  say  good-night  to  one  another,  when 
the  Diddypawn  rolled  over,  and  began  to  moan 
and  groan  and  growl  and  grumble.  At  once  the 
birds  ceased  their  chattering,  and  began  to  listen. 
Then  they  knew  they  would  have  no  sound  sleep 
that  night  if  something  was  n't  done ;  and  so  the 
King-Bird  flew  down,  lit  close  to  the  Diddypawn's 
ear,  and  asked  him  what  in  the  name  of  goodness 
gracious  he  was  doing  there,  how  he  got  there, 
and  what  the  trouble  was  anyway. 

"  All  the  answer  the  Diddypawn  made  was  to 
roll  over  on  his  other  side,  and  moan  and  mum 
ble.  Once  more  the  King-Bird  fluttered  in  the 
air,  and  lit  near  the  Diddypawn's  ear,  and  asked 
him  what  in  the  name  of  goodness  gracious  he 
was  doing  there,  how  he  got  there,  and  what  the 
trouble  was  anyway.  For  answer,  the  Diddypawn 
turned  on  the  other  side,  and  groaned  and  grum 
bled. 

"  How  long  this  was  kept  up  I  '11  never  tell  you, 


300  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME, 

but  after  a  while,  the  Diddypawn  said  the  trouble 
with  him  was  that  he  wanted  to  fly.  He  said  he 
would  fly  well  enough  if  he  only  had  feathers; 
but,  as  it  was,  he  did  n't  have  a  feather  to  his 
name,  or  to  his  hide  either. 

66  Well,  the  birds  held  a  convention  over  this 
situation,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  loud  talk,  it 
was  decided  that  each  bird  should  lend  the  Diddy 
pawn  a  feather.  This  was  done  in  the  midst  of  a 
good  deal  of  fluttering  and  chattering.  When 
the  Diddypawn  was  decked  out  in  his  feathers,  he 
strutted  around  and  shook  his  wings  at  a  great 
rate. 

"  '  Where  shall  I  fly  to  ?  '  he  asked. 

"  Now,  there  was  another  island  not  far  away, 
on  which  everything  was  dead,  —  the  trees,  the 
bushes,  the  grass,  and  even  the  honeysuckle  vines. 
But  some  of  the  trees  were  still  standing.  With 
their  lack  of  leaf  and  twig  they  looked  like  a 
group  of  tall,  black  lighthouses.  When  the  Diddy 
pawn  asked  where  he  should  fly,  Brother  Turkey 
Buzzard  made  this  remark :  — 

" '  If  you  want  to  fly  fast  and  not  fly  far, 

Fly  to  the  place  where  the  dead  trees  are  ! ' 

66  To  this  the  Diddypawn  made  reply, — 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  DIDDYPAWN.  301 

"  *  I  want  to  fly  fast  and  not  too  far, 

So  I  '11  fly  to  the  place  where  the  dead  trees  are  ! ' 

"  Then  the  Diddypawn  fluttered  his  feathers 
and  hopped  about,  and,  after  a  while,  took  a  run 
ning  start  and  began  to  fly.  He  did  n't  fly  very 
well  at  first,  being  a  new  hand  at  the  business. 
He  wobbled  from  side  to  side,  and  sometimes  it 
seemed  that  he  was  going  to  fall  in  the  water,  but 
he  always  caught  himself  just  in  time.  After  a 
while  he  reached  the  island  where  everything  was 
dead,  and  landed  with  a  tremendous  splash  and 
splutter  in  the  wet  marsh  grass. 

"  As  dark  had  not  set  in,  the  most  of  the  birds 
flew  along  with  the  Diddypawn,  to  see  how  he 
was  going  to  come  out.  The  Diddypawn  had 
hardly  lit,  before  Brother  Turkey  Buzzard  ups 
and  says :  — 

"  '  I  don't  want  my  feather  to  get  wet,  and  so 
I  '11  just  take  it  back  again.'  This  was  the  sign 
for  all  the  birds.  None  wanted  his  feather  to  get 
wet,  so  they  just  swooped  down  on  the  Diddypawn 
and  took  their  feathers  one  by  one.  When  the 
fluttering  was  over,  the  Diddypawn  had  no  more 
feathers  than  fins.  But  he  made  no  complaint. 
He  had  it  in  his  mind  that  he  'd  rest  easy  during 


302  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

the  night  and  begin  his  complaints  the  next  morn 
ing. 

"  Says  he, 4 1  've  got  the  birds  and  the  fishes  so 
trained  that  when  I  want  to  fly,  all  I  've  got  to  do 
is  to  turn  over  on  my  left  side  and  grunt,  and 
when  I  want  to  swim,  ah1  I  Ve  got  to  do  is  to  turn 
over  on  my  right  side  and  groan.'  Then  the 
Diddypawn  smiled,  until  there  were  wrinkles  in 
his  countenance  as  deep  and  as  wide  as  a  horse- 
trough. 

"  But  the  birds  went  back  to  their  roosting-place 
that  night,  and  there  was  nothing  to  disturb 
them ;  and  the  fishes  swam  around  the  next  day, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  bother  them. 

"  Matters  went  on  in  this  way  for  several  days, 
and  at  last  some  of  the  birds  began  to  ask  about 
the  Diddypawn.  '  Had  anybody  seen  him  ? ' 
or  6  Did  anybody  know  how  he  was  getting 
on?' 

"  This  was  passed  around  among  the  birds, 
until  at  last  it  came  to  the  ears  of  Brother  Tur 
key  Buzzard.  He  stretched  out  his  wings  and 
gaped,  and  said  that  he  had  been  thinking  about 
taking  his  family  and  calling  on  the  Diddypawn. 
So  that  very  day,  Brother  Turkey  Buzzard,  his 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  DIDDYPAWN.  303 

wife  and  his  children  and  some  of  his  blood  kin, 
went  down  to  the  dead  island,  to  call  on  the 
Diddypawn.  They  went  and  stayed  several  days. 
The  rest  of  the  birds,  when  they  came  home  to 
roost,  could  see  the  Turkey  Buzzard  family  sit 
ting  in  the  dead  trees ;  and  after  so  long  a  time 
they  came  back,  and  went  to  roost  with  the  rest 
of  the  birds.  Some  of  them  asked  how  the  Did 
dypawn  was  getting  on,  and  Brother  Turkey 
Buzzard  made  this  reply  :  - 

"  '  The  Diddypawn  needs  neither  feather  nor  fin, 
He  's  been  falling  off,  till  he  's  grown  quite  thin, 
He  has  lost  all  his  meat  and  all  of  his  skin, 
And  he  needs  now  a  bag  to  put  his  bones  in.' 

"  This  made  Brother  Owl  hoot  a  little,  but  it 
was  n't  long  before  all  the  birds  were  fast  asleep." 

Mr.  Rabbit  never  knew  how  the  children  liked 
the  story  of  the  Diddypawn.  Buster  John  was 
about  to  say  something,  but  he  saw  little  Mr. 
Thimblefinger  pull  out  his  watch  and  look  up  at 
the  bottom  of  the  spring. 

"  What  time  is  it  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Meadows,  see 
ing  that  Mr.  Thimblefinger  still  held  his  watch  in 
his  hand. 

"  A  quarter  to  twelve." 


304  MR.  RABBIT  AT  HOME. 

"  Oh,"  cried  Sweetest  Susan,  "  we  promised 
mamma  to  be  back  by  dinner  time." 

"  There 's  plenty  of  time  for  that,"  said  Mrs. 
Meadows.  "  I  do  hope  you  '11  come  again.  It 
rests  me  to  see  you." 

The  children  shook  hands  all  around  when  Mr. 
Thimblefmger  said  he  was  ready  to  go,  and  Mr. 
Rabbit  remarked  to  Buster  John  :  — 

"Don't  forget  what  I  told  you  about  Aaron." 

There  was  no  danger  of  that,  Buster  John  said; 
and  then  the  children  followed  Mr.  Thimblefino-er, 

O         ' 

who  led  them  safely  through  the  spring,  and  they 
were  soon  at  home  again. 


A 


J 


RETURN 

TO—*- 


MAIN  CIRCULATION 


ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL 
RENEW  BOOKS  BY  CALLING  642-3405 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

JUN  0  1  1996 

JUN  1  S  f?»5 

jvr*}^**  i  /I   «^— 

iHtjLiLAT  IOM  np 

APR  2 

FORM  NO.  DD6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


€01777^761 


M522983 


